Come Back To Me
by amyjane1200
Summary: Three years has passed and many things have changed. A recent move and a new job offer brought Misaki back to the arms of a stranger from her past. With hearts mended and past forgotten will they be able to give love another chance?
1. The One Where Misaki Got Drunk

**Chapter 1: The One Where Misaki Got Drunk**

* * *

 **[MISAKI'S POV]**

I grimaced as I looked myself in the mirror one more time before hunching my back to see if the unflattering bulges in my tight dress was noticeable. I clicked my tongue as I tried to adjust the black skin tight halter dress that my friend helped me pick or forced me to buy. It didn't do anything but emphasize the rolls of fats in my body and didn't at all accentuate my supposedly assets like what the sales lady and my friend graciously remarked. I snickered… _what assets?_ With my 5'4 height and petite frame, there might be some noticeable swells in areas where they are supposed to grow but that was it, there was nothing special about me. Over the years I have grown to accept myself, but right now with everything going on in my life, my self confidence and self esteem has dropped tremendously and I only have one person to blame.

My thoughts were cut short when I heard the loud knock on my door, pushing aside my thoughts I made one last thorough check in the mirror before dashing to my nightstand to grab my clutch. It will be my first time going out after a while and I wasn't looking forward to it AT ALL. Even with my intense protest to ditch the girls' night out, my best friend blackmailed me into going. She has a lot of secrets up her sleeves and I wasn't not ready to be exposed. I ran to the front door with my high heels and opened the door with an annoyed look, making sure to scowl a little bit more to let her know how against I was in leaving my warm and comfy apartment.

"Misaki, you look great," Sakura, my best friend since high school, excitedly exclaimed as she saw me in the dress she picked a week ago. I rolled my eyes at her comment knowing she was only flattering me to persuade me to go out.

"Stop lying."

"Why can't you see what I see? Boys are going to go crazy when they see you," a familiar cunning smile tugged on her lips and my life flashed before me. I didn't want to do anything else but stay at home in my sweats with my favorite company: Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia and binge watch Supernatural.

"I already told you Sakura-"

"I know, I know. You are not ready.. blah blah blah," she rolled her eyes, tired of hearing my bullshit.

As soon as we got in front of the bar I was already regretting my decisions. With the long line, drunkards making their way out, the hollering and catcalls we were getting from the men passing by; I just wanted to excuse myself and pretend to go to the bathroom but actually hale a taxi from the street over and still make it to my favorite show by 10 pm. Maybe grab a tub of my favorite ice cream at KC's mart and a few chips on my way home. That for me would be a perfect night. I felt a pull on my arm and Sakura was stirring me to the back of the line where the rest of my friends was waiting in line. And my wishful thinking was thrown into the trash.

"You can't cut off the line," a few boys complained from the back.

"Bite me," Sakura retorted back before crossing over.

"Will gladly do, baby," the man answered and his friends started began laughing. She rolled her eyes before focusing her attention back to our friends.

It has been a while since I last hung out with my friends, we greeted each other and caught up a little bit before the questioning begun. How our conversation shifted from me asking them about their work to them probing my life and struggles, I would never know…

"Tell me when was the last time you went out?" Aoi my close friend asked. We didn't get a long very well in the beginning. With my lack of fashion style and him making fun of everything I wore in high school, we drove each other crazy. But after getting stuck in doing a project together, we slowly came to know each other and I found something likeable in his demanding personality.

"Last week," I sighed

"He didn't mean going to work or going to the market to buy food," Erika, my co-worker and friend retorted back.

"I don't know a few months," I nonchalantly shrugged, "When are we getting inside?" I tried to stir the conversation to a different topic.

"I am pretty sure, it has been more than six months," Sakura sighed. They fell into silence as they gave me a sympathetic smile and I groaned mentally. I don't need their pity as much as their effort to help me get out of a rut and move on. I will move on when I am ready and when I want to.

"Let loose and enjoy the night, Misaki," Erika grabbed my hands and swayed them to the beat of the spilling music playing from the inside. I small smile tugged on my lips, regardless of their nosy attitude I am happy that I have them as friends. During the lowest point of my life they patiently listened to me and comforted me, for that I will forever be grateful for them.

Once we were inside, the girls and Aoi ordered a few margaritas to start off the night. It has only been a few minutes since we entered the bar and a few guys were already sending drinks to our table. A few were gutsy enough to flirt with them while I fiddled with my phone silently in the corner. This was one of the main reasons why I didn't want to go out in the first place. What was the point? Even with all these people around me I still felt alone and empty. I only wanted to be with one person, but he was long gone.

A couple of shots later and I was already looking at his name on my phone. I excused myself and went outside to get away from the loud noises. I walked past the bouncer and to the side of the building, my thumb already pressing dial on the familiar number. It has been a religious ritual for me to give that bastard a piece of my mind once in a while. And tonight was one of those nights.

At first I only wanted to get some answers from the countless of questions in my head. Why did he leave me? What did I do wrong? The first message was followed by another one. Without any response from him, I became more frustrated and angry. After 5 years together, he suddenly disappeared. The next messages became my outlet of anger and frustration.

I could feel myself loosening up, alcohol always had that effect on me. I was ready to spill out everything I have been holding back, if he thought my past messages was extreme, then this will top everything I have said before. Before it went to his voice mail, Sakura grabbed the phone away from me and pressed end before glaring at me.

"Don't you dare judge me," I cut her off right away before I hear what she has to say.

"You are still calling that douchebag?" she looked at me in disbelief.

"I am just going to tell him what he needs to hear, that I am doing very well and I will leave a few threatening messages," I smiled proudly before taking my phone from her.

"You are doing well? Do YOU think you are doing well, Misaki?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, feeling her words sting. A small realization crossed my mind. Since he left me, I still think about him every night. Waiting for him to return and answer my unending questions. The number of times I cried myself to sleep, my self -destructive behaviours that began affecting my life. I was far from doing well and I couldn't admit it to myself

"You have to erase his number,"

I protectively clutched the phone in my chest. What have I become? A pathetic, sad woman. Far from the person I was before. At this point I was too blinded by love and pain to stand to any reason.

"NO!"

"Why are you doing this to yourself? You have to let him go. It has been six months since he left you. Why can't you admit to yourself that he is GONE, he is never coming back for you," my eyes swelled in tears as I fell on my knees. I knew she was right, but what can I do, I loved him. I love him. I still love him. I started sobbing as all the memories came back, the good and the bad.

"You don't understand. You will never understand," her face softened as she watched me break down.

"I know I will never understand, but let me help you get back on with your life. Slowly move on. This is one of the first step you can do. Stop waiting for him to come back, he left you in this state and you have to prove to him that you can stand on your own," she crouched down beside me and hugged me tightly as I cried my eyes out. It still hurts like it was just yesterday.

-x-

Ten tequila shots and a few cocktails later and I was done. I can barely remember how we got back to my apartment. Sakura rummaged my clutch for my keys in front of my door. My surrounding was spinning and I swear I could see two redheads in front of me. I giggled as I reached for the other figure.

"You are so going to regret this tomorrow," Sakura shook her head while taking off my pumps.

"Who are you again?"

"Okay. I have a meeting early in the morning, I will try to call you before your work," she pushed me back on my bed as I tried to reach for my phone.

"Its already been deleted. No more calls. You promised. Don't do anything stupid. Okay?" I felt her tucked me in.

"Yes. Ma'am," I saluted as I closed my eyes.

A moment later I stirred into consciousness as I heard the front door lock. With much trouble and a lot of stumbling around, I was able to get up and head to the living room to where the telephone was. A chortled laugh escaped my throat as I reached the couch. She might have deleted his phone number but I know it by heart. My surrounding was spinning while I reached for the phone, I narrowed my eyes to focus on the dial pad. Once I keyed in the number, I slumped back on my seat and waited for the familiar voicemail greeting. I closed my eyes as the phone continued to ring,

"Hello?" my eyes snapped open when a raspy and deep voice answered on the fourth ring.

"Who is this?" he asked groggily.

I gritted my teeth in anger. _He has already forgotten about me?_

"F*ck you," I slurred out

"I am sorry?"

"You are a piece of shit,"

"Are you drunk?"

"Hell yeah I am,"

"Who is this?"

"Wow wasn't it so easy for you to just forget about me, huh. You fcking bastard,"

"Sorry, I think you got the wro-,"

"I gave you everything. I loved you so much and you just left me. How dare you?"

 _'dead silence'_

"I called you so many times. Why did you just answer now?" my voice was becoming desperate.

"ummm,"

"You know I still work at the Little Cafe, I am surprised I still have a job considering of the things I have done. I am barely passing my classes and my life is in a shambles. But I still wish that one day you will come back and beg on your knees and ask me to take you back," my inhibitions were down and truth spilled out before I could stop myself.

"I am stupid enough because I will not hesitate to take you back. Whatever your reason is, I will still take you back," I swallowed a lump forming in my throat as my eyes began to swell in tears.

"Just come back to me, baby. I miss you so much," a desperate plea came out and a small sob followed.

"Sorry," he uttered before ending the call

 _-beep, beep, beep-_

-x-

 **(The Next Morning)**

I woke up the next day hunched in the sofa cradling the telephone in my chest. My head was throbbing in pain like someone was drilling holes in my skull. Why the hell did I drink so much? I couldn't even remember how I got home. I could hear a familiar ringtone dully ringing somewhere in my kitchen. Once I stood up, I almost puked out all of my guts. I looked for my phone in the kitchen which was hidden in the cupboard. How it got there? I have no clue...

"Hello?" I mumbled.

"Good Morning sleepy head," I inched the phone away from my ears. Sakura's perky voice was making my headache worse.

"Don't yell," I set up my Keurig coffee maker and began brewing coffee.

"I have been calling you. It is already past 11, don't you have work today?" my eyes widened in alarm.

"Shit. Shit," I put the phone on speaker while scrambling around the kitchen, putting together something I could eat. Despite feeling nauseous and crappy, I knew I would need some energy if I want to survive an 8-hour shift at the café.

"Did you do anything stupid last night?" I rolled my eyes while munching on my toast as fast as I could.

"I didn't. I can't remember anything, I just woke up in the couch," I managed to say in between chewing

There was a silence on the other line, "No you didn't,"

"What?" her tone sent shiver down my spine. What did I do?

"You called him again,"

"No. I didn't," I answered defensively.

"Misa, I tucked you in your bed before I left," my eyes grew like a saucer when I remembered about the telephone. Fuck. I dropped my toast and immediately ran over to the sofa to check the telephone. What if I told him something I would regret?

I sighed in relief as I looked at the unfamiliar entries.

"I called someone at 4 am but it's a wrong number."

"Thank god. At least you didn't make a fool out of yourself again."

"Yeah. Like I haven't embarrassed myself enough," I shook my head, remembering all the messages I left him. It might mostly have consisted of profanities and threats but my empty words were nothing compared to my desperate pleas. He could easily see through my lies, after all he was the person who knew me very well.

"Never call him again. Okay?"

I know it will be hard but this time I was determined to slowly start forgetting and move on from him. Sakura was right, he will never return to me again. A tear fell from my eyes as his parting words resonated in my head one more time.

I closed my eyes to prevent the tears from falling down, "That was the last time I will try. I promise,"

* * *

 ** _Next Chapter_**

 _"What the hell do you want me to do?" I asked exasperatedly._

 _"Live a bit dangerously, man," he dropped the paper works on my table and signaled me to look him in the eye._

 _"You need to meet girls. Okay? I will be waiting at the bar tonight You better be there or else-"_


	2. The One Where Takumi Took A Day off

**Chapter 2: The One Where Takumi Took a Day off**

* * *

 **[TAKUMI's POV]**

I stared at the pile of paper work scattered all over my desk with a pained expression. This was probably my least favorite part of my job, with the deadlines becoming closer and the stress of relocating, it was getting harder to stay on top of things. I miss those days, when life was much easier. With the line of work, I was in, it is almost impossible to relax and have fun. Maybe because I chose to bury myself in my job and forget about everything else, but all my hard work has finally paid off and I am finally doing what I want to do. It might have been a lot of effort, but in the end it is very rewarding and I wouldn't want it any other way.

A knock on the door pulled me back into reality and my best friend, Kuuga saunter in with a big grin on his face.

"Let's go out,"

"Polite pass," I straightened my back and got started with my report, his entrance and predictable agenda gave me enough reason to begin my work. I'd rather be buried in my office than come along with his silly dates.

"You are off tomorrow. We can get hammered and meet girls,"

"I have other important things to do," I shot him down right away.

"Like what?"

"Packing my stuff," he rolled his eyes and redirected the conversation.

"When was the last time you went out on a date?"

"Few years ago," I sighed as I already know where the conversation was heading

"Dude, it has been more than five years. You have to move on at some point," he took the seat opposite to my desk and shook his head in pity.

"I lost interest in girls already," he snorted at my answer.

Don't get me wrong, I still find women attractive and I am still a man with physical needs. However, dating has become superficial to me. My special friends exist for a reason, to simply satisfy each other's needs. Plain and easy. There's no need for pointless interactions because we know exactly what we want. We don't invest too much of our emotions and we don't end up hurting each other. Blame it from a bad experience or getting left in the altar. But my view on love has significantly changed.

"No we are going out tonight. Come on, man. Live a bit dangerously for once," he signalled me to look into his eyes.

"I have a perfect girl for you," _Here we go again_. I dropped my pen and gave him an impassive look. When will he ever get tired of setting me up with other girls? It wasn't like I didn't give it a try before. But after countless of failed attempts and mismatches, my belief that I have lost all interest in girls was strengthened.

"You and me and the girls tonight at the bar," he wiggled his eyes suggestively

"If I say yes. Will you leave me alone for the day? I need to get all of this done before I leave," he did a little victory dance in the middle of my office and gave me a thumbs up before disappearing into the hallway.

 ** _-_ xx-**

The buzzing of my phone woke me in the middle of the night, after checking the clock that read 4:00 am, I picked up knowing it would be my friend berating me about skipping our little arranged group date once again.

"Hello?" I groggily answered,

"Fck you," Still half-conscious, I narrowed my eyes. Was I hearing this right?

"I am sorry?"

"You are a piece of shit," it was a woman's voice. I checked the phone and the number was unknown. _Was this some kind of prank from Kuuga?_

"Are you drunk?"

"Hell yeah I am,"

"Who is this?"

"Wow wasn't it so easy for you to just forget about me, huh. You fucking bastard,"

"Sorry, I think you got the wro-,"

"I gave you everything. I loved you so much and you just left me. How dare you?" I shook my head in disbelief, people can bring pranks to the next level.

"You know I still work at the Little Cafe, I am surprised I still have a job considering of the things I have done. I am barely passing my classes and my life is in a shambles. But I still wish that one day you will come back and beg on your knees and ask me to take you back," I became stupefied as I carefully listened to her emotional rant.

"I am stupid enough because I will not hesitate to take you back. Whatever your reason is, I will still take you back. Just come back to me, baby. I miss you so much,"

With much reluctance, I decided to end the call.

"Sorry," was all I was able to say before I turned off my phone.

I laid wide awake in my bed after. Her words repeated in my head like a broken record. It was hard to admit but I related to her in a personal level. It might have been more than five years but it still seems like it was just yesterday when she ran away right in front of my eyes. At that moment, my heart shattered into pieces. The love of my life, the person I though I would spend the rest of my life with… Left me without any explanation.

 _'Sorry Takumi. I can't do this,'_ her last words played in my head before I closed my eyes to try to drift back to my interrupted sleep. But I stayed fully awake for the rest of the night thinking about the drunk, mysterious caller.

-x-

The next morning, I put on a pair of jeans, a black hoodie and headed to downtown. With my friend's motivational words _'Live a bit dangerously,man,'_ to back up my stupid idea. I headed to the café, to find the mysterious caller. What my objective was? I have no fcking clue…

I stopped right in front of a small establishment that has a front led name board that says _Little Café_. A bell rung when I opened the door, alerting the staff of a new customer. Considering it was already past noon, the place wasn't packed. There were a couple of college students on their laptops and a few group of friends sitting at the bigger tables on the far wall. The ambiance of the coffee shop was very pleasant and relaxing; a soothing music was playing in the background. It was a perfect place to get some work done over a cup of coffee with freshly baked pastries and cakes.

I stood in line behind an elderly woman, taking her sweet time asking about the types of pastries and the ingredients. I took that time to look around and try to spot the drunk woman I encountered in the phone. I silently laughed at how incredulous my situation was. How did I ended up stalking a girl who accidentally called me in the middle of the night? There is a fine line between living dangerously and doing something bat shit crazy and I was waltzing past the line.

Two baristas were working behind the counter, a tall man with a dragon tattoo on his right arm and an attractive woman with a medium length, curly brunette hair.

"Can I take your order, Sir," the cashier interrupted me from my observation. I locked eyes with her and her smile grew wider. I stepped forward and ordered a cappuccino and cheesecake.

"Is that everything, Sir?" she gave me a flirty look and I lightly nodded my head, unaffected by her charm. Disappointed, she pointed at the tray of numbers in basket next to the counter. I took a number and seated myself at the front seats by the window. It was a sunny and perfect day to stroll around the city. Few passing girls took notice of me and gave a second look before whispering and pointing at my direction. I remained aloof, used to the extra attention that I usually get. After all, I knew it was all just the outer appearance they are attracted to.

A girl dashed past my sight and into the café, the bell rung and she hurried inside.

"I am so sorry I am late, thanks for covering for me," she apologetically stuttered.

That voice.. I whipped my head back and a raven haired girl walked to the back of the counter along with the other server. _Was she the drunk caller?_

Five minutes passed by and a server approached me. "Sorry for the wait. Here's your order," I turned to my side and the raven haired girl from earlier, carefully placed a cup in front of me. Sitting on a stool chair, I was able to scrutinize her much closer. Her hair was put up in a messy bun and she was wearing very minimal makeup, probably because of the lack of time to get ready. But with her high cheekbones, snub nose and rosy cheeks, she was a natural beauty.

She slightly shook her head and scrunched up her face like she was trying to ease some pain.

"You don't look too well," she looked up and amber eyes stared back at me. She seemed a bit surprise about my observation.

"Yeah, it was a bad idea to get drunk the night before an early shift," she laughed as she placed the slice of cheesecake next to my cup.

"Enjoy," she smiled at me before turning on her heels and grabbing the empty cups on the table nearby.

That was definitely her. I groaned in frustration and dig into my cheesecake. _What the hell am I going to do with this information?_

-x-

I knew I was getting some weird looks especially from the staff. I have been sitting in my chair, alone, for the last five hours. There were only a few customers left and by the looks of it they will be closing up soon. The baristas helped with the clean up and started putting the chairs up. I took it as a sign and vacated the café, I noticed the raven haired girl arching her brows at me on my way out of the door.

Instead of going straight home to forget about this eventful day, I stayed behind and waited at the back alley. I was seriously becoming concern with the state of my mind. Why was I strangely affected by this stranger? Maybe a side of me felt very sympathetic towards her. I know exactly what she was going through, been there and done that. Perhaps I just wanted to let her know that she wasn't alone and it will get better. Like they said, time heals all wounds. I shook my head once again, _who am I to offer words of wisdom to a complete stranger?_ Finally getting a grip on reality and realizing the intensity of my actions, I made my way to my car to retreat when the back door swung open and a couple of voices became audible from where I was standing. The employees bid their good byes and two women exited last and locked behind. It was the raven haired girl. Her friend walked ahead and she lagged behind.

She looked around and I moved from my spot, taking the opportunity to finally approach her. I lifted the hood of my jacket and pulled it over my head. Following her footsteps, she side glanced before slightly picking up the pace.

"Hey," I called out.

She whipped her head back and her eyes widened in alarm "Stay away from me, you perverted stalker," her loud scream made me step backwards

"No. No. This is a misunderstanding," I shook my hands in defense and carefully approached her.

With her face painted with distrust and body in fighting stance; she shoved a rectangular object to my stomach and I felt a jolt of electricity run through my body before I fell on my knees. Her foot steps were becoming indistinct as she scurried away from my immobile body, laying flat on the ground. The street lights continued to flicker and all I could think of was all the bad decisions I made today. This was all my friend's fault.

* * *

 _ **-Next Chapter** -_

 _"This customer actually waited for me at the back alley. Can you believe that?"_

 _"Thank God, you were safe. There has been a lot of cases of some guy running around the town assaulting girls,"_

 _"It is too bad. He was actually a looker,"_

 _"Tsk. Tsk. You can never know what goes on in people's head,"_


	3. The One Where Misaki Got Injured

**Chapter 3: The One Where Misaki Got Injured**

* * *

 **[MISAKI's POV]**

"Can you believe a customer waited for me at the back alley?" I vented out while walking to our next stop. After a week of stressful studying and working our asses off, we decided to give ourselves a well deserved day off to hang out and eat out.

"Thank God, you are safe," Sakura said, "There has been a lot of cases recently about a man running around the town at night and molesting women."

"I know. I am thankful that I got that Taser with me all the time," the news of girls being assaulted was increasing these last few weeks, one of my acquaintance was unfortunately one of the victims. The man waited for her after work hours and followed her home. Since hearing the news, I decided to buy a Taser and thank god it came in handy.

"Have you seen him lurking around since then?"

I shook my head in relief, "No. I haven't seen him since last week. If I see him again, I am not going to hesitate to do it again."

"You are too fearless," she chuckled

"It was too bad, the guy was actually a looker," I sighed before we entered a clothing store.

"You really can't tell what is going on in other people's head," she clicked her tongue and I agreed silently.

After making me try different dresses we went back on searching for something more comfortable for me to wear.

"Have you talked to him?" she quickly looked up before resuming going through the racks of blouses. She lifted a floral tank top at my direction to ask for my opinion and I shook my head before answering her question.

"I kept my promise. I have been a good girl," I gave her a smile. I am not going to lie, it was very hard not to reach for the phone and dial his number again in hope that he would answer this time and maybe finally give the answers that I needed. But I knew I have to move on at some point. I couldn't continue doing this to myself. I am not the Misaki I used to know, anymore. I need to find myself.

After doing our little retail therapy, we grabbed a bite and caught up. Juggling school and work, it is hard to have a social life and keep in touch with my friends. Sakura will be finishing up at her dental school this year which made her harder to contact as well. Most of my friends are graduating soon while I still have three years to go, it might be exhausting and at times I just wanted to quit but I know it will all be worth it at the end. It was past four pm when we bid our goodbyes, I waved at her as she rode a taxi in front of the mall. I decided to stay behind and buy some sweets at my favorite pastry shop located a few blocks away from the mall. With the exams slowly approaching, these goodies give me energy boost.

After getting myself a small treat, I sat on the street bench while waiting for a taxi. It was rush hour and there were a lot of cars passing by and people running to catch their bus. Across the street was a bistro restaurant, I have only been there once when I went out on a date with my ex-boyfriend. I groaned at the memory. We were still happy back then. _When it did all go wrong, anyway?_

I noticed a black car pulled up at the side of the building. A spiky blonde hair peeked out as a man got out of the car, he was wearing a black suit. He turned around and offered his hand for his companion to take. My eyes widened in surprise as I recognized his face. A brunette woman followed him out and kissed him on the lips. I furrowed my eyebrows, unable to make sense of the scene in front of me. His gold eyes stared intensely into hers and his lips tugged into a smirk. An expression I used love. Those intense gaze that sent my heart into frenzy and that sly smirk that brought butterflies in my stomach. My eyes welled up with tears. He placed his hand on her back and guided her inside the restaurant.

"Tora," I mumbled, I stood up from my seat and ran to the other street, unmindful of my surroundings. I only wanted to get to him and ask him for an explanation. Was she the girl he replaced me with? Why was it so easy for him to move on? Did he really not love me at all?

Tears were streaming down my cheeks, pain and disbelief clouding my already confused mind. A horn blasting behind me pulled me back from my daze. Before I could gather my thoughts, I looked at where the sound was coming from and an SUV was coming straight at me. I stood in the middle of the street in shock, my feet were frozen on the ground, I could only close my eyes and wait for the impact to hit me.

-xx-

My head was throbbing with a dull pain when I woke up. I felt myself being lifted up and put down on a bed followed by a man's voice stating my condition and status.

"Is she going to be okay?" a woman standing on my right asked

"Is she dead?" the other people began leaving, "Am I going to jail?"

"Calm down, woman. She just moved her hand. She's alive," an irritated voice snapped.

I opened my eyes and a bright light greeted me. I could smell an overpowering scent of disinfectant; I was in the hospital. Shit.

"She's awake. The doctor will check on her in a minute," the same voice announced before stepping away. I heard the curtains being pulled across the rod and footsteps faltering away.

"She's going to be okay. Right?" the woman called out

"I am okay," I said out loud. My eyesight finally adjusted to my surrounding. A middle aged woman stood in front of me with terror and shock written across her face.

"Why the hell did you jump in front of my car? Were you trying to kill yourself?"

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble," I sat up on my bed.

"What if I killed you? Are you going to sue me?" she was pacing back and forth and biting her nails in panic.

"It was my fault," my voice dropped down in shame, "Don't worry about anything. I take full responsibility of my actions."

"Are you going to ask for money if you have injury?" she was starting to have a panic attack. Shouldn't I be the one getting some medical attention here?

I heard the curtain pulled back.

"You can even ask the doctor. I will be fine," I tried to calm her down, I turned around to ask the person who joined us.

"How are you doing?" a low, husky voice asked

The man looked up from his chart and emerald eyes stared back at me. My eyes widened in surprise for the second time today. _What the hell?_

"Perverted stalker."

"Drunk caller!" he pointed an accusing finger at me.

I arched my brows at his sudden comment, "What did you call me?" I asked dumbfounded

* * *

 _- **Next Chapter-**_

 _"What's your story?"_

 _"I will tell you mine, if you tell me yours," he gave me a sly smile before taking a sip of his coffee_

 _"Fine!"_


	4. The One With The Coffee

**Chapter 4: The One With The Coffee**

* * *

 **[TAKUMI's POV]**

"How are you doing?" I looked up from my charts to find the drunk caller, sitting up on the bed with eyes as wide as a saucer

"Perverted Stalker!" she mumbled as she stared back at me in shock

"Drunk Caller!" I pointed a finger at her, the memory of her leaving me behind in the middle of the street, half conscious was still fresh in my mind.

"What did you call me?" her eyebrows raised up

"Is she going to be okay?" the woman in the corner asked, I redirected my attention to her still slightly baffled at her sudden appearance.

"Don't worry she will be okay. Do you mind giving us a few minutes alone?" the woman cautiously nodded her head and stepped out not before giving the drunk caller another look.

"I am not going to be left behind with a pervert," the girl protested and tried to stand up.

I rolled my eyes at her statement, I should be the one cautious of being left behind with her. I don't know what else she was capable of.

"Please sit down," I checked the chart to find her information, "Miss Ayuzawa," I looked straight into her amber eyes. What were the chances that I would meet her again after our unfortunate first meeting?

"How did you know my name, huh?" she staggered up and I went to her side to escort her back to the bed.

"I would advice that you stay put, we don't know if you have a concussion in your head. We still have to wait for your CT scan," she retrieved her arm and pulled back, putting a distance between us.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Did you hit your head too hard or are you just stupid?" she gave me a thorough look and realization slowly dawned on her.

"Oh," she sat back down on the edge of the bed still remaining suspicious. I couldn't really blame her for acting indifferent towards me. I put on my stethoscope and approached her, I checked her heart beat while she watched me with a dubious look. This was going to be harder than I expected. I took out a flashlight pen from my coat and pointed it at her eyes to see if her pupils were equal. If her pupils were constricted it could mean that is some bleeding in her head.

"Good, good," Her pupils looked normal.

"Dr. Walker here is the scan," one of the nurses handed me her scan and I held it up high against the light.

"Everything looks fine Ms. Ayuzawa. Just take it easy for the next few days and clean your wounds every day to avoid any infections."

"Okay," I signed her chart and passed it the nurse. She stood up from the bed and I stopped her with my hand.

"Would you like to grab some coffee with me today?" she looked back at me in confusion "To give you some answers?"

"I can meet you at the coffee shop in the lobby in," I checked my watch, "an hour?"

She slowly nodded her head. I watched her form disappear from the crowd of patients and nurses making their way in and out of the ER section. I took a heavy sigh, I have a lot of explaining to do.

-xx-

 **[MISAKI's POV]**

I arrived ten minutes early at our meeting place, I ordered two cappuccinos and took a sit by the window. I could still feel the slight throbbing on my head but it was nothing compared to the confusion I was feeling at the moment. Who the hell was that guy? Wasn't he the guy who tried to assault me? I had so many questions in my head and the dull pain in the back of my skull was not helping at all.

A moment later I heard the wooden chair in front of me being pulled back and the man from earlier took a seat.

"Is this for me?"

I nodded my head and we remained in an uncomfortable silence, "So you are a doctor, huh," I tried to break the tension, I took a sip from my cup and stole a quick glance. I didn't realize how handsome he was. I knew he was a looker on our first meeting but I was too hungover to notice his appearance. With his blonde hair neatly swept back, high nose line and chiseled jawline. Girls must be going crazy over him. Despite wearing a suit and a lab coat over it, his figure still looked slender and I could only assume that he was all muscular inside with define abs.

I internally shook my head to snap myself out of my daze. I didn't come here to daydream about him

"Yes, I am a doctor," he cockily replied.

"What the hell where you doing at the back alley of the coffee shop?" I said a bit too loud. The other customers looked at our direction while I gave them an apologetic smile.

I snapped my attention back at him and narrowed my eyes.

"I was waiting for you,"

"Then you are actually a stalker?" I furrowed my brows at him, _What is wrong with him?_

"Nope," he looked up, his emerald-green eyes stared back at me with interest. I immediately darted my eyes away, his stare alone was very intimidating, "I wanted to see the drunk caller who called me in the middle of the night," I choked back on my drink, I quickly put down my cup and spilt some of the coffee on the table.

"What?"

He handed me some napkins

"You called me in the middle of the night. I am just going to go on a limb here and assume that you were trying to call your ex boyfriend but ended up dialing the wrong number. You went on about working at the café and pleading for him to come back. Does it ring a bell?"

"Shit," I closed my eyes in frustration as the memories slowly came flooding back. The 4 am call on the phone and the unfamiliar entries. I covered my face with my hands while trying to remember the things that I said and also hiding from the hot doctor from embarrassment. I _am never going to get drunk again._ I slowly removed my hand and glanced at him. He was watching me with an amused smile. How can he find amusement from my misery?

I straightened my posture on my seat and tried to form an apology, "First of all I am so sorry for tasing you last week, there has been some cases of some guy running around the town wearing a black hoodie and molesting girls after work hours. Well you kind of fit the crime at that time," I slightly snickered at the odds. A well respected and very good-looking doctor was lurking around the back alley for a random girl.

I cleared my throat, "I am sorry,"

"You think its funny, huh?" his firm tone made me jump back a bit.

"I can't really blame you. I must have been out of my mind," he shook his head and chuckled. A small smile formed on my lips as I continued watching him.

"So what is your story?" I asked

"Why do you ask?"

"Come on, a man like you wouldn't just take an interest on a random caller who called him in the middle of the night. There must have been something that caught your attention, maybe the things that I said. Maybe you felt sympathetic," the events were becoming much clearer to me.

"I must have sounded so desperate." _Oh. God._

He took a sip from his coffee before giving me a sly smile, "I will tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"I got drunk and I accidentally called you," I simply shrugged

"Your whole story,"

I gave him an are-you-out-of-your-mind look. Why the hell am I going to tell this random stranger about my life story and tell him things I never even shared to my closest friends.

But on the other hand, I am never going to see this man again. Well I intend to not see him again after everything that happened between the two of us.. My expression became blank as my mind tried to weight my options. What's a little story going to do for my reputation anyway? I have already made a complete fool out of myself in front of him. I have nothing to lose. Maybe he might be even a bit helpful and provide me some insight

"Fine." I gulped down my entire drink and readied myself.

"He was my first love. The first man I ever let into my life, I have some serious daddy issues after he left us with debts. I had to start working early to help out with the bills at home. One day he came into my life and made me realize that not all men are like my dad. He slowly made me fall in love with him and he opened my guarded heart,"

He nodded his head as he listened intently.

"We have been going out for five years, then without realizing it he was slowly slipping away from me, until one day he showed up at my front door and broke up with me. He told me he never loved me. That was more than six months ago. I have been calling his number and trying to reach him, leaving him messages to find some answers. Then that night I got drunk and accidentally called you."

"And today, just when I thought I was making some progress. I saw him," I closed my eyes as I tried to compose myself, "with another woman. It seems like he has moved on a long time ago and there is me," I looked away as few tears rolled down my cheeks.

"I am so lost right now. I don't even know who I am anymore," a small sob escaped my throat.

We remained in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. I was too terrified to see the reaction of the stranger in front of me. I have just completely bared my soul to him. What the hell was I thinking?

"I proposed to this girl. She was my best friend and my first love. I was the happiest man in the world when she said yes to me. I was willing to give everything to her, I was willing to sacrifice everything just to make her happy," I gawked at him in surprise when he began telling his story.

"On our wedding day, she told me at the altar that she couldn't do it and she ran away. Without any explanation she completely disappeared from my life. That was five years ago. I spent the past years buried with work and trying my best to forget about her. My best friend has been trying to get me back out there but I have lost all my faith in love and in women in general. Then 2 weeks ago, I heard from our friends that she got married last month. It was like a big slap on the face. She couldn't marry me but she married the next man who came to her life," he remained impassive like he was just telling a simple story but I could see the sadness and longing in his eyes.

"Aren't we two peas in a pod," I smiled while he slightly chuckled in response

I stared into his eyes and mumbled "I am sorry."

"I am sorry, too," With those simple words, I felt comfort in an unlikely stranger.

"My advice to you is to stop trying to ignore the pain. Embrace it. Also don't close of all the possibilities, you never know when you will meet the right person that will make you realize how irrational your past was and make you believe in love again. But until you find her, don't neglect yourself. Find a hobby, do the things you used to like to do before and start enjoying life. Get out there. Just give it a try and you will meet a lot of wonderful people," he leaned back on his chair and gave me an amused smile.

"The things you've been doing these past few months is running away from all the hurt and pain. You don't want to accept the truth but you will have to in order to move on. Embrace the pain and the truth. It wasn't your fault that he left and you did your best, the only thing you can do is to start loving yourself again. Find the things that once made you happy and don't close off your heart, maybe the right one is on his way to you,"

"That was basically the same advice," I crunched my forehead

"Well, you need to listen to your advice too," he smirked, he checked his watch and hurriedly stood up from his chair.

"My break time is over," I felt a slight disappointment, I was actually enjoying his company.

He offered me his hand and I gently shook it.

"It was nice to meet you Misaki Ayuzawa. Maybe one day we will meet each other again and maybe by then we will find ourselves and be a whole person again,"

"Thank you. It was nice meeting you too and maybe, maybe, one day.." he turned around and walked towards the exit. It might have been a short meeting but it definitely was something. With a new found purpose I headed back home.

-x-

I reached for the telephone and dialled the familiar number. I knew I made a promise to Sakura and to myself that I would never call him again but I couldn't end this chapter of my life knowing that the last message I left him were the words that I didn't mean to say. The phone started ringing. I have to end this the right way; this was the only way I could get the closure that I need. With the stranger's advice in my head I readied myself.

The voicemail greeting came to an end and I took a deep breath before starting my unrehearsed speech.

"I don't know if you will hear this message but I met a stranger today, and he made me realize some stuff. I still despise you for what you did to me but I don't think I will ever stop loving you. You are my first love and nobody can replace that spot. But you broke my heart into pieces and it will take a while for me to put it together. My last few threatening messages was my way of coping and wanting to get some answers. I guess I would never hear the reason why you left me.

Anyway, I am going to learn how to live without you and move on but before I start this new journey I have to acknowledge the fact that I had so many good memories with you. You made me into a new person and made me realize a lot of things, probably the reason why I kept holding onto you. Thank you for everything and I hope that you'll live a happy life," the tone beeped at the end of my message.

I wiped the tears on my cheeks and sighed in relief

"Done with that." I mumbled

* * *

 _-3 years later-_


	5. The One With The New Job

**A/N:** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, I am very happy that you guys liked the previous chapter. You guys motivated me to update right away

* * *

 _-3 years later-_

I pushed the boxes out of my way as I tried to reach the kitchen to whip up something edible to eat and brew a much needed cup of coffee.

"Where are the mugs?" I yelled out to my roommate and my best friend Sakura.

"What?" I heard the shower being turned off

"Mugs!"

"It is in one of the boxes in the kitchen," she yelled back.

I looked at the number of unopened boxes sitting on the floor of our kitchen and I groaned exhaustedly.

We moved to Tokyo last week and to our new apartment in the city after I graduated from my Nursing program earlier this summer. We have been planning our move for two years now, we thought that there will be more opportunities for us here in Tokyo and I saw it as an opportunity to start over. Luckily, I got a job offer at Tokyo General Hospital while Sakura got hired at a clinic nearby as a dental assistant.

We got to our two-bedroom and one bath apartment, three days earlier with just a few luggage and bags in hope to get everything set up before we start our work on Monday. As we thought that everything was going according to plan, the moving company then called us that our entire possessions will get to our apartment a few days late. Come Sunday night, the night before we start at our new jobs. The movers got to our apartment and dumped all of the boxes and furniture at 10 pm. We were only able to take out a few valuable things needed, aka our coffee maker and we set up the beds and other furniture before deciding to call it a night.

Now it was past 6:30 in the morning and I couldn't find a mug to make some damn coffee. I crouched down and look at the labels of the boxes. With only an hour before the start of my shift, I finally gave up and grabbed a bowl nearby and filled it with coffee. Ignoring the grumbling of my stomach, I headed to my bedroom to get ready. I don't want to be late on my first day to work.

-xx-

I stood in front of the hospital and gazed at the building in amazement. After four years of hard work and after a big set back in my life, I finally made it. I might have had my heart broken, lost my way and myself along the way but in the end I was able to completely turn my life for the better and without those heart breaks and suffering I don't think I would have become this strong and persevered to do my best in everything that I do. Without those hurdles I don't think I will be standing here and reaching for my dreams.

I took a deep breath and followed the sea of people making their way inside. It has been more than a month since I was last here. I went in for an orientation two months earlier and we were quickly toured around the hospital. Tokyo General Hospital was one of the biggest hospital's in Japan and it was a big privilege to be offered a job right after my graduation. I wouldn't have made it without the good recommendations of my wonderful professors.

I went straight to the locker room where we were given our own lockers. It was 15 minutes before the start of my first shift. I opened my locker and there was my own scrubs, stethoscope and manuals. A small smile tugged on my lips. I quickly changed into my scrubs and sat on the benches for further instruction. It felt more real now that I was finally wearing my scrubs.

"Is it your first day?" I looked on my left, a man with brown hair and a cheeky smile asked

"Yes," he closed his locker and faced me

"Me too. I am Hinata by the way," he offered me a hand

I shook his hand, "I am Misaki,"

"Nice to meet you, Misaki,"

We were interrupted by a cheerful greeting, we turned around to see a petite woman in her early thirties stood by the door holding a chart, "Hello, everyone."

"I am Satsuki Hyodou and I am the head nurse. I will be assessing you for the next three months until you get the hang of how things works here," I have never seen anyone as jolly as her. Everyone slowly moved closer to hear her better.

"You will be divided into a small group and one of the experienced nurses will be appointed in your group to mentor you for the next few months. If you have any questions or doesn't know how to do a procedure, they will be their to help and guide you. Most of your tasks will involve taking samples, pulses, BP, etc; charting in patients and doing hospital records," she makes it seem so easy even if it already sounds so hard.

"You still have a long way to go and A LOT of things to learn. I am already telling you it will not be easy but it will be worth it at the end. I am looking forward to working with all of you and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me or any of the other nurses here,"

She began dividing us into groups. There was a total of twenty new nurses including myself.

"Shoichiro Yukimura, Honoka Aki, Hinata Shintani and Misaki Ayuzawa," I gave Hinata an acknowledging nod. At least I have a familiar face in my group.

"you will be with Miya Arami," I heard a few groans at the back

"Oh man. I wanted to be assigned to her," a male nurse complained

We stood in front of the nurse's station in a total lost. Most of the other nurses have went on with their tasks with their appointed nurses while we waited for our mentor. Everyone was moving so fast and doing their jobs meticulously. Satsuki was behind the station taking in some calls.

"Out of the way," one nurse yelled as she pushed a hospital bed to another room. We all stepped back at the same time and watched in awe.

"These are the newbies?" we turned around and a beautiful brunette with a porcelain skin and perfectly done hair and makeup stood before us. She arched her brows and scrutinized us.

"Yup. Go easy on them. Have fun," Satsuki happily waved at us.

She rolled her eyes, "Follow me,"

We went up to the third floor and to one of the admitting rooms.

"Hello, Ayame. I have here with me are new nurses and they will be helping me get you set up for you surgery later today. Is that okay with you?"

"Yup,"

"You with the brown hair," Miya pointed at Hinata, "Take a blood sample,"

"and you," she looked at me, "Can you set up an IV?"

I excitedly nodded my head, "Yes!"

I went to her side and began the procedure while she watched me like a hawk. My hands began shaking. I can't make any mistakes on my first day.

"This will hurt a little bit," I informed the patient

"Ow," her forehead scrunched up. My hand wasn't steady and I couldn't push the needles properly.

"Can't you do anything right?" Miya pushed me away and took the needles out of my hand

"You," she pointed at Honoka, "Take over."

Honoka swiftly finished the procedure and Miya shook her head at me.

"That's how you are supposed to do it. If you can't even do a simple procedure how the hell can you be a good nurse?" I kept my mouth shut, if she wasn't just my superior I would have smacked her neatly curled brunette hair against the wall. It was one small mistake, how dare she question my ability to do my job properly. The rest of my team didn't say a word but Hinata and Yukimura empathised with me while Honoka didn't seem to care at all. I already know which people I will go along with.

"Here put these back to the station. Make sure you don't mess up anything," she handed me some charts and I gave her an incredulous look.

"Go!" she yelled.

-xx-

I passed the nursing station and put down all the charts I was carrying and exhaled loudly. I didn't expect I was going to encounter someone like her. I just know she's going to make my life miserable for the next few weeks.

"Misaki," Satsuki called me over, "How is it going so far?"

I gave her a weak smile, "It is alright,"

"Is someone giving you a hard time?" I looked at her in surprise. _How did she know?_

"Miya has always been like that; she treats everyone like crap. Don't take it personally," she leaned closer to me, "If it makes you feel better, the guy she likes treats her like she doesn't exist," Satsuki giggled. She looked around to check if anyone heard her.

"Karma," I giggled.

"That is true," her sunny personality seem so infectious that once you stand near her you wouldn't have any other choice but to smile as well. I grinned at her, I know we will get along very well.

"Anyway, we have a new admitted patient in room 156. He's yours if you want," she handed me a chart.

My eyes widened in excitement and I quickly grabbed it from her.

"I need you to do a thorough examination. He has been complaining about a recurring chest pain so get him a heart scan after and find Dr. Walker for a consultation," I nodded my head while keeping tracks of all her instructions.

"Got it. Thank you so much, Satsuki,"

"Good luck. You can do it," she cheered

I headed to the patient's room with a new found enthusiasm. I am not going to let someone bring me down like that. I am not the same Misaki as before. I can stand up for myself and I can god damn well do my job properly. I knocked twice before entering the room.

"Hello Mr. Mori," the older man looked at me and gave me a small smile

"I am Misaki and I will be doing your examination today,"

"Good morning, darling," he greeted me

After doing his chest scans, I got his blood samples and easily set an IV for him. I smiled proudly at my work, I knew I can do it.

"Are you doing okay, Mr. Mori?"

"I am fine. You are doing very well, sweetheart," he gave me an encouraging smile.

After getting his scans back I left him for a moment and went to find Dr. Walker for a consultation. Where have I heard that name before? I went to the nurse's station to ask Satsuki but only the tall girl with glasses was sitting inside. I think her name was Shizuko.

"Hi," I tried to get her attention

She looked up from her charts, "Hello. Misaki, right?" I nodded my head.

"Do you know where I can find Dr. Walker?"

"He was just here a couple of minutes ago. I think you can find him in the cafeteria,"

"Thank you," I smiled at her, despite having a rough start, I am slowly adjusting.

The hospital was much bigger and I still had a hard time finding the right way. After countless of turns I reached the cafeteria. I pushed the door open and looked around. I didn't think this through, how the hell am I going to find this person with the vast of people in white coats. At least I know it is a man.

I looked around to see if I recognize anyone that I know to ask for help when I certain blonde man caught my attention.

He was standing beside the coffee stand with other doctors surrounding him. I stood frozen in my feet. It can't be. He must have felt my stare and he darted his eyes towards my direction. His emerald-green pools stared back at me casually, the smile on his face was slowly wiped away and was replaced with curiosity. His other colleague became intrigued and looked back at where he was staring. A small recognition crossed his face. He said a few words to his companions and started walking to me. My eyes widened in surprise. Shit. I quickly turned around and vacated the area. _What the hell?_

I walked as fast as I could. Why do I have to meet him again?

A hand grabbed my arm and I stopped on my tracks

"Hey," he said, I slowly turned around to face him.

"Hey," I stared at his handsome face in disbelief. What are the chances that I was going to see him again after all these years?

"It is you," his lips broke into an amused smile.

* * *

 _"I didn't know you were planning to be nurse,"  
_

 _"Well, there's a lot of things you don't know about me,"  
_

 _"But I know quiet enough," I snapped my eyes at him and he was watching me with a small glint in his mesmerizing eyes_.


	6. The One Where They Met Again

**A/N:** To those who reviewed as guests, I couldn't personally message and thank you guys so I will just thank you here. Thank you so much and I appreciate all of your kinds words. Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed the story :)

* * *

 _-Takumi's POV-_

I got out of bed with only two hours of sleep and went straight to the coffee maker to brew some coffee. Getting used to working long hours each day, it is impossible to get a normal sleep pattern. You either crash from fatigue or stay awake from drinking too much coffee. But I still continue fueling my body with caffeine or else I wouldn't be able to survive my 12-hour shifts.

I placed some bread in the toaster and headed to the living room to play my answering machine.

"Hi, Takumi. I had a really great time last night. Cant wait to hear back from you," after my shift last night I was able to sneak in a quick date and crashed right after I got home. I pressed delete and moved on to the next message. I had a great time with her but I know it will not work out, instead of wasting our time it is wiser to just end it right away.

I have had a couple of very serious relationship these last few years. Is six months considered a long term relationship? No. But I consider it as a step up and a big accomplishment especially coming from a man who have lost all faith in love.

I have met tons of interesting women in the past but the connection was just not there. After a few months of dating, I always end up leaving the relationship. What was the point of staying if I knew it was not going anywhere? I guess I just have never met a woman that I truly connected with. I still have my fears if I will be honest. It is not easy to give your trust to someone knowing that even the person you think you knew so well was capable of breaking your trust, how else are you going to trust a total stranger?

The sound of the oven pulled me out of my reverie and I quickly ate my breakfast.

-x-

I got to my office at exactly 7:30 a.m. With an apartment just a couple of blocks away, it only takes ten minutes to get to work. Both a blessing and a curse especially it was very easy for the hospital to reach me if they need extra hands. After checking my agenda for the day, I put on my white coat and began my rounds.

I entered my first patient's room.

"How are you doing, Ken?" he has been my patient for the last six months. He came to me first complaining about his heart beating too fast. Dr. Williams, one of the cardio-thoracic surgeon performed an artificial heart valve surgery on him a week ago. He had an aortic stenosis which obstructed the blood flow into his aorta and decreased the overall flow of blood to the body from his heart.

"I am feeling a bit better but I am starting to feel a lot of pain in my chest," he was still under observation, the surgery was minimally invasive but it still comes with a lot of complication.

"That's completely normal, we will increase your pain medication in a while. Anyway, I just checked your EKG and everything is looking good. Your heartbeat has completely stabilized and it will just matter of time before you are back on your feet again,"

After finishing my residency three years ago, I have decided to specialize treating the heart. It has always intrigued me how such a small organ has so much role in keeping us alive. We were interrupted by Shizuko coming in with a group of nurses.

"Good morning, Dr. Walker," she has always been so formal to everyone.

"Morning."

"This is Dr. Takumi Walker and he is one of our cardiologist," the group she brought mostly consisted of females and I heard a few heavy sighs.

"Hello, everyone. I hope that you are having a good first day," I walked closer to Shizuko.

"Shizuko can you give him some more pain medication and keep monitoring him every few hours. If there are any changes just let me know."

"Okay," I gave a small smile to the new staff as I passed by and proceeded to my next patient.

Making my rounds and checking on my patients takes up most of the hours of my day. After a few hours I decided to take a break and headed to the cafeteria when I passed by the nursing station. Shizuko was already back on her usual spot.

"How is Ken doing?"

"I increased his dose of morphine and he is taking a rest right now. I will check up on him again in an hour," she said monotonously. I nodded my head.

"Alright. Thanks,"

My feet brought me straight to the coffee stand once I got in the cafeteria. My body was only functioning because of caffeine and I don't think I could go on with my day without more than one cup of coffee in my system.

"Takumi," someone called out

I looked back to my best friend, Kuuga and my other colleague Soutarou Kanou, Kenji Sawa and Nagisa Hyoudou; making their way to me. My best friend decided to follow me to Tokyo a year after I left, I knew he couldn't live without me by his side to keep him out of trouble. I have met him in college and became very close right away. We finished med school and our residency together.

While I wanted to become a cardiologist, he had different interest and decided to specialize in neurology. Kanou on the other hand is an orthopedic surgeon while Nagisa is the head nurse's older sister and is a pediatrician. I met them after my move here from Osaka.

"How is everyone doing today?" I took a sip from my coffee.

Kuuga shook his head, "Dead tired, I was on call last night and two of my patients almost flat lined,"

"It was supposed to be my day off but one of my patients gave birth prematurely," Nagisa added

"I was working in the ER for the last 12 hours. I just want to crash right about now," Kanou exhaled and gulped down his coffee.

"I only had two hours of sleep," the rolled their eyes at me.

"Wow. That is so tragic," I chuckled at Kuuga's exaggeration, "I am just glad that I will have three days off,"

"Don't waste it by doing something stupid," Nagisa remarked

"You have to let loose sometimes, Nagisa,"

In the corner of my eyes, I noticed a figure standing right ahead, I directed my eyes to that direction and spotted a raven haired girl standing near the door, staring at me. She looked familiar. My friends became curious and glanced back.

"Who is that?"

She quickly turned around and bolted out of the door.

"I am not sure. Excuse me for a second," I pushed open the double doors and ran after her. Was my mind just playing some tricks?

Increasing my pace, I caught up with her and grabbed her by the arm.

She looked back and I instantly remembered her.

"It is you," I smiled.

She remained speechless as she stared at my face in total disbelief.

"How have you been?" I let her arm go and took in her appearance, "Are you working here?"

"I am."

"Wow. I didn't know you were a nurse," I shook my head still amazed at the coincidence. Who would have thought that I would meet her after 3 years in a different city?

"Well there's a lot of things you don't know about me," I arched my brows at her answer. Someone seems a little bit touchy.

"But I know quiet enough," I retorted back. Bringing memories back from our last meeting.

She scowled, "Past is past and it will remain unspoken from now on,"

She quickly recollected herself and kept her expression neutral, "I came here to find you for a consultation,"

"Alright," It seems like I was the only one ecstatic about our little reunion.

We remained quiet the whole walk to the admitting rooms. I stole a quick glance to the woman beside me, she has changed so much from the last time I saw her. Her distinct features remained the same but she seemed to be able to carry herself more confidently now.

She entered the room first and I followed suit.

"Hello, Mr. Mori. I am Dr. Walker and I am here to do a consultation. I heard that you have been getting a recurring heart ache?" I took out my stethoscope and checked his heart beat for any abnormalities.

"Yes. For the last 3 months," he let out a dry cough

"Can you sit up for me?" I moved my stethoscope to his back

"Take a deep breath," I heard a rattling sound in his lungs

"Exhale,"

"Are you a smoker, Mr. Mori?" he fixed his hospital gown and leaned back

"I have stopped a long time ago," a slight fear and regret crossed his face, "Is my chest pain caused by smoking?"

"I am assuming that you have a coronary heart disease, we still need to do more tests to make sure. There might be a blockage in your coronary artery and is causing a decrease blood flow in your heart which is why you feel pressure in your chest," he nodded his head in understanding, his face still full of worry.

"Don't worry Mr. Mori, you are in good hands,"

"Can you get him an echocardiography and give me the result of his blood samples after?" I looked back at her while she was blatantly watching me from the side.

She blinked her eyes "What, I am sorry?"

"Get him an echocardiography and I want to see his blood results," she quickly jolted it down on her notepad

"It is her first day," the patient commented. His uneasiness was thrown aside as he smiled fondly at the nurse in front of me.

"But she's doing very well. She did my IV in just two tries," he reported while Misaki cautiously laughed in embarrassment.

"You are very nice Mr. Mori, thanks for being understanding," she quickly glanced at me to see my reaction.

"Don't worry about it. I know you will be a great nurse. Are you still single?" she snapped her eyes at him, startled by his inquiry.

I became as curious as the patient asking the question, I wonder if she was still hung up with her ex-boyfriend. I tried to not appear eager as I waited for her answer.

"Yes I am,"

"How come? You are very beautiful; you must have a lot of guys admiring you,"

She smiled a bit at his compliment, "You are a joker, Mr. Mori,"

"No. I am an old man and I only speak the truth," he redirected his attention to me, "Isn't she beautiful?" I was caught off guard, I gazed at her and answered straightaway.

"Very," I smirked and I saw a small blush on her cheeks

"I think my grandson will like you very much. He is still single and he is an engineer," the older man continued on with his chatter, "But I think you will be suited more with a doctor like this handsome, gentleman right here,"

"Are you still single?" I chuckled at his inquisitive personality, it was not everyday that I get asked about my personal life. At least I knew he meant no harm in his questionings.

"Yes. Yes. I am,"

He let out a playful laugh, "I think you two would look great together,"

I could see her in my peripheral vision trying to hide the redness on her face.

"Are you playing Cupid on us right now?" I raised my eyebrows at him with a small grin on my face.

"Maybe? You will thank me one day, son." He winked at me and laughed

"We just met today. Mr. Mori. I don't even know his name," she said matter-of-factly.

Even though I was just starting to become more amused, I couldn't stay any longer. There were still other patients that needed to be checked on. Feeling a bit guilty, I interrupted their exchange and tried to excuse myself.

"Well, it was very nice to meet you Mr. Mori. I will see again later to talk about your results,"

"It was nice to meet you too," he also bid good bye to the nurse and we headed to the door. I walked with her back to the nursing station to give her instructions.

"Make sure you update his patients record. I am hundred percent sure that he will be needing a surgery. Check the availability of our surgeons in case the patient decides to go through with the surgery and don't forget to give me the results by the end of the day. If you have any questions just ask Satsuki to page me,"

"Okay," we stopped right in front of the desks while she continued writing on her little notepad.

"And by the way," she looked up and waited for further directions.

"I'm Takumi Walker and it is a pleasure to see you again, Misaki," her name had a very comforting and familiar sound to it. I smirked at her stunned reaction and walked away. Things has just become more interesting in this hospital.

* * *

 _"Morning, Satsuki,"_

 _"Hi, Takumi,"_ _she continued writing on her records only glancing up for a second_ _"Do you need anything?"_

 _"How are the new recruits doing?"_

 _"Why did you ask?"  
_

 _"Nothing,"_

 _"You have never been curious about our new employees," she put down her pen and gave me her full attention, "Are you interested in someone in my department?"_


	7. The One With the Empty Wine Bottle

-Misaki's POV-

The lights in my apartment were open when I arrived, basing on the pair of shoes roughly scattered on the floor and an empty wine bottle sitting on the kitchen counter, I presumed that my room mate has arrived and was also having a rough day. She was sitting on the couch in the living room when I found her, with a wine glass in one hand and mind lost in thought, I took a seat beside her.

"Rough day?" I asked as I poured myself some wine in a glass and plopped down on the couch.

She stirred from her spot and moved closer to me to lean her head on my shoulder, "Yup. You?"

"Yes. Want to go first?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled before drinking the rest of her wine.

"The dentist was a horrible, nasty, old man. He was making a pass on me the whole day and my co-workers were a bunch of stuck up bitches who didn't give a damn at all," her voice began trembling, "Why did we think that we can move here and start a life away from our family and friends?" she sobbed as she tried to bury her face on my shoulder.

"What should I do, Misaki?"

I grabbed the glass from her hand and placed it down on the table. I didn't know she felt like this about moving here. A part of me felt guilty because I was one of the reasons why she decided to move to Tokyo with me. She left a good paying job and her life back in Osaka to move to a completely different city for a potential opportunity and is it turned out, it wasn't even what she thought it would be. On the other hand, I didn't even look back once we left and felt only relief to be able to get away from my hometown. I made a lot of good friends and memories but the ones that stuck to me the most where the heart breaks from the people I cared the most. Now my best friend was stuck with a horrible job and a spiteful employer.

"I am sorry," she tilted her head up and questioned my apology with her tearful eyes.

"I am sorry, I made you move here,"

She immediately shook her head in protest, wiping her tears in the process.

"It is not your fault. We both made the decision to move here, it is just that nothing seems to be going right since we came here," I know even if she wouldn't admit, there will always be a part of her that would wonder: What if I never left?

I tried to focus on the important subject and push aside the other problems for a while, "Do you think you can do anything about your boss?"

"I can't. He is going to get me fired,"

"Quit," she looked at me like I said something completely outrageous

"What?"

I positioned myself on the couch so I could face her properly, "Quit. We will find you another job,"

"Are you crazy? How about the apartment? How are we going to pay the bills? Do you know how hard it will be to find another job?"

"Breathe, Sakura," she did like what she was told and calmed her nerves

"We will make it work. I still have some money saved up,"

"You are saving that to pay for your debts,"

After I went to college and moved out of our house, my sister and mother moved back to my grandparent's house. Even when we were living together, I never felt at home or felt that we were a family, deciding that it was better for me to live on my own, I moved out in college. I still continued to help pay our debts at the same time. There are still remaining debts from the loans my father borrowed for gambling that was passed to us to pay when he left. Add to that my student loan, I still have a long way to go before I could pay every cent of money I owe.

"This is only temporary," I gave her a reassuring smile.

She threw her arms around me and sobbed, "Thank you. I don't know what I will do without you," I patted her head to comfort her, like what my mother used to do when I was a little girl. It always worked whenever I was crying after my father threw a fit in the house.

"What happened to you?" she lifted her head and asked

"Not as bad as yours,"

"Spill,"

I sighed, "Well, my trainer is a bitch and she has been picking on me the whole day. Criticizing me about my job and telling me I am not good enough. I didn't want to let it get to me but being consistently told so, it kind of starts getting in your head," I was slowly regretting moving here as well. How did I get enough courage to do something this crazy? With a small amount of money saved up and everything we own in tow, where did we get the confidence that we could survive in this city?

"Show that bitch what you are made of. You are not going to let someone like her to step on you like that,"

"Easy to say but she's my superior. I can't do anything to her,"

"I will slap you right now if you keep up that kind of backward thinking. Where is the Misaki that I know?" I leaned back on the couch.

"You are right," I angled my head to face her, "Thank you. I don't know what I will do without you,"

"We will make it through this. Don't worry. I will find a new job right away and you will show that girl what you are capable of," my eyes welled up with tears and I tried to hide it by giving her a tight hug. I have been through worst and I know we will get through this as well.

"Enough with this. Let's get some food, I am starving," I stood up from my seat and wiped the tears forming in the corner of my eyes.

I grabbed my phone to order some food, we might be two strong, independent women but one thing we couldn't do is cook anything edible to eat. After ordering I went back to my spot and continued drinking my wine. For a moment this will help forget about our problems.

"I almost forgot to tell you, that guy from the hospital is here,"

"What guy?"

"The guy that I drunk dialed,"

"The hot doctor?" her eyes widened in surprise, she wiped the tear stain on her cheeks as she became intrigued with my gossip, "What is he doing here?"

"He is working at the hospital,"

"No fcking way," she poured herself more wine and listened intently

"Yes," I groaned, "He knows everything about me," having a stranger know something so personal about me doesn't sit right to me. It makes me think that it will be so easy for him to use that information against me.

-x-

Hinata and Yukimura were hanging in the break room when I arrived, they have been shadowing Miya for the last few days and helping out when needed. Honoka has been working in the admission department alongside me and only seeking for help from Miya when needed. She checks up on us from time to time, especially on me, making sure I don't fuck up anything. As usual she tries to insult me every chance she gets and I try my best to make our interactions as little as possible. The rest of my team didn't seem to be bothered by Miya as much as I was, this intensified my belief that she was only picking on me. _What the hell did I do to her?_

"How many days are you guys working this week?" Yukimura asked

"Six days and I am logging in more hours,"

"I am working seven days straight," he sighed.

"Six days," Hinata answered, "This is actually very exhausting, I am eating more than I usually do,"

"You eat a lot but you don't even gain weight," Yukimura noted

"I have high metabolism," he said, proudly. I smiled at them and grabbed the rest of my stuff.

"I will see you guys around, my patient has a consultation," I went ahead and walked straight to the station when Hinata caught up with me.

"Misaki,"

"Yeah?"

"What time is your break?" he gave me a shy smile

I checked my watch, "1pm. Whats up?"

He looked away and scratched the back of his head, "You want to grab lunch with me?" his face was very expectant as he waited for my answer.

I shrugged my shoulder, "Sure. I will just meet you at the cafeteria,"

His smile widened in response, "See you later. Bye" he walked backwards and waved at me.

"Good morning," a greeting came from behind me. I only took a quick glance before grabbing my patient's chart and handing it to the person behind me.

"Good morning Dr. Walker," I greeted out of respect and started walking.

"Why are you so formal? You can just call me Takumi. I think we are way past strangers now,"

"You are still a stranger to me," I barked at him

"Ouch. After I shared to you my deepest, darkest secrets?" I knew he was teasing but there was a truth to what he said. It might have been more than 3 years since our first and last encounter but the event was still clear and vivid in my head.

"I followed your advice," he casually stated

"You did?" I looked back at him in shock.

"Yup. It seems to me that you also followed my advice," I arched my brows

"Are you going out with that kid?" and the slight remorse I felt towards him disappeared. I rolled my eyes at him

"Who? Hinata? We are just friends,"

"He just asked you out,"

"We are just grabbing lunch together. Don't put malice in everything you hear and please stop eavesdropping on someone else's conversation. This is why you get in trouble, from being too nosy," I picked up my pace and entered the room first.

"Hello. Mr. Mori,"

"Good morning, darling," he closed his book and sat up properly

"Good morning, Mr. Mori," he entered with a stern look on his face

"We have seen your scans and blood results. My guess was right and there's a blockage in your artery. Your old lifestyle seemed to have affected the development of this. Especially smoking which damaged the lining of your artery and led to the build up of fatty materials which are blocking your artery now," I gave the patient a compassionate smile, I couldn't imagine what was going through his head at that moment.

"We will have to do an open-heart surgery," his face became tense

"We will be taking an artery from a different part of your body and create a new passage for your blood to flow into your heart,"

"That sounds very dangerous,"

"It is but Dr. Williams is a very talented surgeon and he will do his best to make sure that the surgery will be a success," I watched Dr. Walker explain the rest of the procedure to the patient.

Moments like this is when I was reminded that he was just not an ordinary man who I happened to have a serious talk in a coffee shop a few years ago and someone who shared a part of their life to me. He is a man completely devoted and passionate about his work and someone who saves hundreds of people's lives. Just seeing this side of him, makes me see him in a different light.

"Are you going to be there?" Mr. Mori asked me.

"I am sorry. Mr. Mori, I will not be there but I will be taking care of you after your surgery,"

"That's very comforting to know. Thank you," the concern and fear never left his eyes but he was able to calm down.

"I highly recommend that we do the surgery as soon as possible to reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack,"

"Okay. I trust your judgement. My wife and son will be flying in tomorrow afternoon. Do you think we can do it when they get here? I will be more at ease knowing that my family will be waiting for me after my surgery,"

"Of course. A nurse and a therapist will be coming in later today to talk to you more about the surgery," After checking the rest of his results, he left right away without saying anything. What was with the sudden change of his attitude?

-x-

"Hi, Dr. Walker," Miya greeted with a high pitched and overly-sickening sweet voice.

I mentally sneered at her actions. I glanced up from the desk and spotted him walking closer to our station. It was downtime and some of the nurses were on their break. Dr. Walker walked past Miya, not even bothering to reciprocate her greeting, I felt a slight triumph from seeing her in agony. So he was the guy that she likes and the only one capable of inflicting pain to her big ego. A smirked formed on my lips.

"Satsuki, can you get the patient in room 210 a chest X-ray and an EKG?"

"Okay. Do you need anything else?"

"That's everything,"

Most of the nurses have stopped from their tasks to stare at him. Everyone seemed so smitten to him, getting starry-eyed and lost from just staring at his handsome face.

"He is so hot," I heard the new nurses on my side whispering as they were writing on their charts and sneaking a look at the same time. I shook my head in disbelief and returned to my task.

"Misaki," someone called out, I tilted my head up and he was standing right in front of me. Hands in the pocket of his white coat with a smug smile on his face. I could feel everyone's eyes as they watched our interaction.

"Do you want to grab a cup of coffee with me later?"

"What?" _What the hell is he doing?_

"You owe me one,"

He leaned closer to me and whispered, "Don't think I have forgotten that instance when you tased me outside your work for being so nosy,"

I took quick peek on my right and saw Miya scowling at me. I swear this man wants to make my life in this hospital a living hell.

* * *

 **A/N:** The preview from the last chapter will be included on the next chapter with this preview. Sorry for the confusion :)

 _"Are you going to tell me why you have been avoiding me?"_

 _"I wasn't avoiding you,"_

 _"Are you troubled because I know so much from your past?" she remained quiet "Have you really lost all faith in men?"_

 _"Maybe. Because all of you are the same," she scoffed_

 _"Try me. I can prove you wrong," I smirked_


	8. The One With the Coffee Date

"No," I replied with a stern voice as I turned my attention to the paper works in front of me, shutting down the offer of my friend standing in my office with a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean no?" Kuuga inquired, not understanding the reason for him to pass off his delightful proposal

"No means I don't want to go," he shook his head in disbelief.

"She wants to go out with you," he walked closer to my desk. With a confident grin, he whipped out his phone, trying to show me a picture of the girl he wanted to set me up with. I took a quick peek and returned to my work, completely unfazed of his attempt to convince me, "She's really hot. Right?"

"You can go out with her if you want," I casually stated

He groaned in frustration, "I am going out with her friend and she wants to go on a date with you,"

My silence irked him even more, "Since when did you become uninterested of the girls I set you up with?"

"Can't you see I am busy?"

"You are making up excuses again," the tone of his voice became serious as he eyed me carefully, "What is wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," I tried to reassure him. I know how concerned he was of my well being, particularly of my dating life. He probably doesn't want to be stuck with me twenty years from now when he finally has his own family and he doesn't have a choice but bring me in to celebrate special holidays with them because I will be alone.

"OH!" he yelled out all of a sudden, his eyes widening in excitement, "Is this about that nurse chick that you were talking to?" I glanced up and raised an eyebrow.

"Some nurses were talking about it," he took a seat in front of me and I leaned forward, interested of the news he has with him

"What did you hear?"

It might be just a hospital and a work place for some other people, but for people who works there it was also a gossip central, where rumours and stories about relationship dramas and affairs of their own staffs were discussed over a cup of coffee during breaks and travels around the hospital in a lightning speed.

"You asked out this new nurse and she turned you down," he said mockingly

"I just asked her out to get coffee and she didn't turn me down," she has been avoiding me more than usual after putting her on the spot and asking her to get coffee with me. My simple invitation had no hidden agenda or whatsoever but my friend was thinking otherwise.

"Coffee," he scoffed at the mention of the word, "more like I am attracted to you and I want to bang you," I rolled my eyes at him and threw the pen I was holding to his face.

"What?" he snickered as put down my pen back on the desk, "That is your style. You ask girls out to go on a coffee date or for drinks then you end up spending the night together. Next thing you know, they come out of your room the next day," he smirked

I couldn't rebuttal and defend myself because it was the truth, instead I remained quiet.

"Why do you not take girls out on a proper date?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Because taking them out on a proper date means that I want to take our relationship seriously and I will be putting effort and time into something that will end up nowhere,"

He sighed, "Sarah really fcked you up, huh,"

I slightly cringed at the sound of my fiancé's name.

"You need to fix your issues if you ever want to settle down someday," I ignored his comment, it is easier said than done.

"So did you sleep with this new chick yet?"

"No," I shook my head in disbelief. It was just a simple invitation, it wasn't everyday that you get reunited with people from your past, I couldn't help but be curious about her.

"What made you think I want to sleep with her?" he slyly arched his brows at me, doubting everything I uttered.

"She was just someone I met back in Tokyo. I told you about her,"

"There are so many girls that you told me about,"

"The girl I stalked," I tried to refresh his memory.

"The crazy bitch that tasered you?" he laughed, remembering the time when he picked me up laying down at an alley late at night.

I chuckled "Yup,"

"She's here?"

"What a coincidence, right?" I smiled.

"Wow," he placed his hand on his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

My smile was wiped away as I groaned in frustration already sensing his sarcastic remark coming next.

"Do you think it was faith that brought you two together?" he exaggeratedly widened his eyes in shock.

I crumbled up a blank piece of paper and threw it at him.

"Shut up!"

-xx-

I stopped by the nursing station to sign a few documents after making my rounds. It was already past 10 am and the chairs inside were empty. Nobody was taking in calls and writing reports in the station. I looked around to see anyone I know and saw Satsuki coming out of the elevator from the far end of the hall carrying a handful of syringe and needles.

"Hi Satsuki," I greeted as she approached me, "Can I get the records of the patient in Room 125, I still need to sign his prescriptions,"

"Let me just put these away. How are you doing today?" she smiled and went behind the desk.

"Not too bad. I was finally able to get some decent sleep last night. I am trying to get as much sleep as I can before I start my new shift, next week,"

"Are you on-call?"

I nodded my head

"The chief needs to increase the budget and start hiring new doctors, everyone has been logging in more hours than usual. Even with the new staff, we are still short in people," she said in dismay as she passed me the records.

"We will have a meeting with the chief next week to discuss about it," I checked it quickly and signed it before handing back to her, "How are the new recruits doing?"

She looked up from her chair with a playful smile on her face, "Why did you ask?"

"Are we not allowed to check on our new employees?" the corner of my mouth turned to a smile

"You have never been curious about our new employees," she put down her pen and gave me her full attention, "Are you interested in someone from my department?" she waggled her brows at me with a teasing smile.

I laughed at her reaction before I could answer, another person joined us.

"Morning, Satsuki," I glanced on my right and the raven haired girl was walking towards us, carrying more charts with her.

"Misaki," she excitedly exclaimed, "You have already met Dr. Takumi Walker,"

Her face hardened as she looked back at me, "Yeah I know him," I raised my eyebrows at her, why did she sounded so displeased.

"You do?" Satsuki clapped her hands enthusiastically, "How did you guys know each other?"

"I me- "she cut me off, "From an unfortunate incident," she smiled at Satsuki, "see you later,"

"What happened?" Satsuki muttered in puzzlement as Misaki marched away from us

"I will talk to you later," I bid a quick goodbye and tried to catch the aloof, amber-eyed girl.

She got into the elevator first and watched me as I increased my pace to catch her, "Wait up,"

Instead of keeping the door open for me, she pressed the close-door button. I was able to press the arrow button in time and the elevator door swung open with a very annoyed girl standing inside.

I stood beside her, "Are you free later?".

"What do you need?"

"I will stop pestering you if you grab a cup of coffee with me," she paused for a second and tried to weight her options.

"Fine. I have a break in 2 hours, I will meet you at the cafeteria,"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good." She got out of the fourth floor, not even bothering to look back.

 _Why was I having so much fun pissing her off?_

-xx-

She was already sitting at one of the tables near the coffee stand when I arrived. She had one cup of coffee in one hand while the other one was busy fidgeting with her phone. I took a seat opposite to hers.

"Hello," I leaned back on my chair. Misaki stuffed her phone back in her pocket and watched me with a blank expression.

"How have you been?"

"Please don't act like we are close,"

"You have become very cold and unapproachable," I stated while I got comfortable on my chair.

"I have always been like this,"

"It didn't seem like it to me before," I watched her reaction through the rim of my cup, her brows snapped together as she glared at me.

"Why have you been avoiding me since we saw each other?" she remained quiet.

"Are you worried because I know too much from your past?" she looked up and her expression changed,

She pressed her lips together and her eyes moved to the cup she was holding.

"You know something about me too, wouldn't that make us equal?" I tried to reason with her.

She exhaled and her expression softened, "I am not comfortable that you know something so personal about me,"

"I am not planning on disclosing what I know to other people," she studied me carefully, assessing whether to believe me or not, "What we talked about three years ago will remain between the two of us. I am just a stalker curious about how you have been since the last time we talked,"

She cracked a smile, "I have trust issues so it might be very difficult for me to share,"

 _That makes two of us_ ; I slightly chuckled at the thought.

I cleared my throat, "When did you move to Tokyo?"

"Just a couple of weeks ago. I graduated from my nursing program earlier this year and got offered a job here,"

"I see,"

"When did you move here?" I raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"What?" a flush crept up her face, "Are you the only one allowed to ask questions here?"

"Well. I got offered a position here three years ago after I finished my residency,"

She nodded her head and took a sip from her coffee

"Are you over your ex?" I asked and she choked back on her coffee. She glared at me as she continued coughing.

"What the hell?"

I tried to hide the smile on my face and shrugged my shoulder, "I am just asking,"

"As a matter of fact, I have," she announced with a smug smile on her face, "Have you moved on from your ex-fiance?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. I followed your advice and I have been dating around,"

"Good for you," she replied.

I turned the question to her, "Have you been dating around?" I asked curiously.

"Nope," my eyes bored into hers. I couldn't believe that this person hasn't been dating since her last relationship. Were the men around her blind to not see her?

"I was too focused in school to think about dating again," she said nonchalantly

Realization dawned on me, "Seems like you have lost all faith in men,"

"Well, that too," she grinned, "You all are the same,"

I faked a hurt look, "Don't make false generalization about all men," I stared straight into her amber eyes, "Try me I can prove you wrong,"

"Yeah right," she rolled her eyes, "You are as fucked as I am," I didn't take offence but instead became curious at her thoughtless remark. I urged her to elaborate more.

"I am sure you have never taken any relationships seriously,"

I chuckled at her reply, "You got me," I leaned closer to her, "It seems like you know so well"

She also leaned forward and muttered, "Birds of the same feather flock together,"

"I think we are perfect for each other," I winked at her.

She was taken aback by my sudden comment and her face turned scarlet.

"wh- whatever," she scrambled up her seat trying her best to avoid eye contact, "My break time is over," she took her cup and walked away

"See you around, Misaki," she glanced back to me and scowled

I leaned back on my chair and smiled, _I think I just found my match._

* * *

 **-Next Chapter-  
**

 _I knocked a couple of times before entering_

 _"You called for me?"_

 _He finally looked up and eyed me up and down, "Yeah. I wanted to see you," there was something different with the glint in his eyes. I felt a slight danger and edge but I kind of liked it._

 _"_ _Take a seat. We have a lot of things to talk about," he stood up from his chair and I took the seat opposite to him. Why was my heart beating so fast?_

* * *

 **A/N:** Questions, comments, suggestions? Leave them in a review :D


	9. The One Where Misaki Fell Off Her Chair

**A/N:** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed :))

* * *

A long flat piercing sound penetrated my ears as I stood frozen on my feet looking around the chaos in total shock. During my four years in a nursing program, we studied and learned how to take care and assess patients, administer medication and a lot of medical jargon but no amount of learning and experience can prepare us for this kind of circumstances.

"What the hell did you do?" Miya pushed me out of the way as two other nurses dashed in to check on the patient. Honoka rolled in the crash cart while Miya opened his hospital gown to expose his chest.

A moment later Dr. Walker walked in, "What happened?" he took out his stethoscope and checked the patient.

"Mr. Mori was stable a while ago and he lost consciousness all of a sudden. There is no sign of breathing or heart beat," Miya reported

"Charge it to 200," Miya passed the paddles of the defibrillator to him

He placed the paddles to his chest, "Clear," all hands were pulled away from the patient as electric current was delivered to his heart. Heads moved to the monitor but it only showed a straight line as his heart remained unmoving.

"Charge it to 200," I remained immobile on my spot, "Clear,"

"Charge it to 300," his tone was becoming anxious as time was ticking and the life of his patient was slowly slipping away

"Clear,"

The room became quiet as everyone stared at the monitor.

 _'beep' 'beep'_

"We have a pulse," Honoka announced and I heard myself sigh in relief, I didn't realize I have been holding in my breath the whole time.

Takumi checked his heart beat.

"Must be a shock for you, huh?" Takumi turned around and walked up to me, "Are you okay?"

I finally looked away from the patient, "Yeah I am fine. Is he going to be okay?"

"What did you do, Misaki?" Miya interrupted, he faced Takumi and gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry about that Dr. Walker, she is new and she doesn't know what she's doing. I already told Satsuki to not let her meddle in,"

"If you can't follow a simple instruction, I don't know if you are suited to be a nurse," she shrugged her shoulders condescendingly

My face hardened as I looked at her in disbelief, "It wasn't my fault, I just did what I was supposed to do. Satsuki told me to add some electrolytes to his IV fluid and he just lost consciousness," I reasoned with her. I wasn't going to stand there and let her insult me about doing my job properly.

"Miya, you have been a nurse for more than three years, you must know that cardiac arrest is normal especially for older patients who went through a major heart surgery. Are you sure you have learned anything as a nurse?"

My eyes widened in surprise at his reply, Miya's stunned reaction was priceless. I tried my best to contain my laughter.

"Dr. Walker I- "he turned his back away from her.

"Misaki, can you check on him every hour and let me know if there's any changes," my face might have been painted with doubt and uncertainty, "Don't worry he will be fine, we just have to closely monitor his progress," he smiled and passed me the chart.

A small smile formed on my lips, "Thanks, Takumi,"

He passed by us and I was left with a fuming Miya, glaring at me. I didn't feel an ounce of guilt towards her, before she could say something to me once again, I immediately walked away. At least I know that I can defend myself now.

 _ **-xxxx-**_

I stretched my arms from exhaustion and groaned when I felt a knot on my neck and back from sleeping hunched forward and in an uncomfortable position on the small, swivel chair. Working for more than 8 hours a day and getting only little to no sleep every night, it was starting to take a toll on my body. I looked around me, it was oddly quiet at this time of the day. It was usually bustling with staff coming in and out of the station. I checked the time and it was already quarter past one. Shit. I slept for more than thirty minutes. I told Shizuko to wake me up after 10 minutes since I still have to check on my patient. I really just needed a power nap to get me through the rest of the day. I scrambled up my chair and ran to the third floor to check on Mr. Mori.

"Misaki," Satsuki called out as I was walking back to the station.

"Dr. Walker wanted to see you in his office,"

"Alright," I headed to the elevator and to the first floor where his office was located.

"Dr. Walker," I knocked a couple of times

"Come in,"

I slightly pushed the door open to see if it was appropriate for me to enter. He was focused on his computer screen and writing down some notes. He looked more disheveled than usual, he wasn't wearing his white coat and the top two buttons of button shirt was unbuttoned.

He has been on call and sleeping in the hospital for the last two days, a light stubble was forming on his face from not having time to shave for a while, his hair was also not in its neat form like the usual. It was spiky and tousled and I had the sudden urge to run my hands through his hair. He never looked more ravishing. My eyes slightly widen in surprise, _What the hell was I thinking?_ I tried to clear my head as I welcomed myself in his simple office.

"You called for me?"

He finally looked up and eyed me up and down, "Yeah. I wanted to see you," there was something different with the glint in his eyes. I felt a slight danger and edge but I liked it.

"Take a seat. We have a lot of things to talk about," he stood up from his chair while I took the seat opposite to him. Why was my heart beating so fast? He slowly moved around his table and leaned back on his desk as he rolled up the cuff of his sleeve. I tried to keep my eyes from roaming his body. I could see the muscles on his arm flexing from his small action.

"What is it about?" my mouth was becoming so dry and I could feel myself heating up. Were the AC turned off in his office.

"Don't let Miya get to you. I know she has been giving you a hard time lately," my mouth formed an 'O' as I realized the reason behind his request to see me.

"It's alright," I gave him a smile, "I really don't know what I did to her but I will try to stay out of her way and prevent any unnecessary argument,"

"She just sees you as a competition. You are pretty, smart and you got my attention," he walked up to me

"um.. Thanks?"

He put his hand on either side of my chair and slowly inched closer to me, his eyes darting to my lips

"What are you doing?

"Something I should have done a long time ago," He crashed his mouth to mine, I was taken a back for a while but immediately responded to him. I kissed him with the same passion as his hands roamed my body aggressively. With the same thirst and desire, I gripped my hands on his hair and pushed him closer to me, making sure there were no space between us. His hands reached my thighs and he lifted me off the chair, my legs automatically wrapping around his lower torso. He sat me on the edge of his desks and he pulled away from me, his hand caressing my cheeks

"I waited so long for this," his eyes were darkening with lust. My hands on their own will slowly started unbuttoning the rest of his shirt. His bare torso becoming more accessible to my touch. He moved his arm across the desk, throwing everything on the floor. He lifted my shirt up and he lowered me onto his desk, my back hitting the cold wood while his eyes roamed my body. His lips crashed to mine once again, with more passion and need this time around. His lips made contact with my neck and he nipped every inch of skin his lips passed by. A moan escaped my throat and I buckled my chest forward to get closer to him and create friction from our burning bodies. His right hand moved up and down my thigh.

"I need you right now," I whispered into his ears.

"Takumi," I moaned

"Misaki," he mumbled my name as his mouth moved lower from my chest, his emerald green eyes never breaking contact from me. I watched him move his head lower and lower to my body.

"Takumi," I closed my eyes and tilted my head back

"Misaki,"

"Misaki,"

"Misaki,"

.

.

.

"Misaki," the voice was coming from somewhere else.

My surrounding suddenly turned pitch black and my eyes snapped open. I came face to face with the blonde man who was once on top of me. My eyes widened in surprise and I stumbled back on my swivel chair, falling to my side in the process. He crouched down beside me and moved his face closer to mine. His eyes had a mischievous glint on them.

A smirk formed on his lips, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.. I- I am fine," he offered me his hand but I swatted it away and scrambled off the floor by myself.

He stood up, "Shizuko already checked on Mr. Mori and Satsuki said that you can take a 30 min break,"

I could still feel my face burning up from embarrassment, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not too long, you were drooling in your sleep," I wiped the corner of my mouth immediately. Noting that my cheeks weren't damp, I glared at him and he only chuckled in response.

"Was I sleep talking?" I stealthily asked, I still wanted to know if I said something that may tip him off about the dream that I just had. It was a dirty little secret that I wanted to keep to myself

"No. Not really," he replied and I sighed in relief.

"Was someone trying to kill you in your dreams?"

I arched my brows, "No. I don't know. Why?"

"You kept fidgeting and moving on your chair," he looked away and tried to hold his laugh, "and you kept making some weird sounds," he cleared his throat

My face turned red as the dream played in my head once again, it was so vivid it almost felt so real, "It was a stupid dream and I was really tired," I tried to avoid his inquisitive stare.

"I know," he smiled, "Satsuki said you have been working very hard these last few days. Go take a break and get some sleep. You will need that,"

"Thanks," I exhaled, thankful that I wasn't found out. It might become a big trouble, knowing that this guy was capable of making my life a living hell.

"You are welcome. See you later,"

I collapsed in my chair and slumped back. I think I needed a cold shower to get these un-womanly thoughts out of my head and a much needed rest, I don't want any weird thoughts of him clouding my head.

"Hey," he turned around and leaned over my desk

"Yeah?"

"I hope you dream of me like that again," he winked and turned his heels to the other direction.

My jaw dropped open as I watched him smugly walk away from me, I buried my face on my hands and muffled a mortified scream.

 _Fck_ …..

* * *

 _"What is your greatest fantasy?"_

 _"What?"_

 _I leaned closer and whispered, "Mine is making out in my office or doing it in a supply closet," her face turned red_

 _"You are a perverted stalker," she yelled as she pushed the chart to my chest._

 _My surrounding became quiet as the staff and patients lo_ _oked back at us in puzzlement._

* * *

 **A/N:** I had so much writing this little chapter. I hope you enjoyed it too. It was also my first time writing a steamy scene like that LOL. How was it? I am hoping it wasn't too bad.. and I am sorry it was just a dream. Anyway thank you all for reading :))


	10. The One Where They Had a Long Night

**A/N:** Hehe I had so much fun reading all of your reviews. Also I will keep the story rated T, the next few chapters will contain some adult talks and some scenes similar from last chapter but that will be all, I dont think I can write sex scenes LOL. Thank you all for reading :)

* * *

 **-Takumi's POV-**

The sound of my pager ringing pulled me out of my slumber. The numbers 911 appeared on the small screen and I clambered out of the twin-size bed I slept on, in the on-call room and dashed out of the door, grabbing my white coat hanging on the wall on my way out. It was my first week working an on-call shift. Three cups of coffee everyday and naps here and there was keeping me going for the last few days. A wall clock I passed by read 2 am. I could already imagine what kind of emergency I will be tending to.

Walking past the nursing station on my way down to the first floor where the ER was located, a certain raven haired girl was the first thing I noticed. She was leaning on her hand, fighting hard to keep awake but her head kept nodding off. Short in time, I didn't have the chance to tease her.

The ambulance just pulled in once I got in the ER, they were rolling in a man who was covered in blood and bandages. The paramedics performed first aid on him at the site of the accident. He was reported to have 6 broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, a broken arm and legs, a possible concussion and a chest trauma. The nurses and physicians immediately went to work. Kanou was also called in to assess the man's broken bones. The ER doctor in duty administered the pain medication to reduce his agony.

He was already losing consciousness, the nurses tried to keep him awake as I tried to evaluate his injuries. A tenderness on his chest area and an abnormal chest movement was evident on the patient, his blood pressure was also dropping gradually and his breathing was becoming irregular.

"There might be some internal damage to his organs, we need to operate on him," Dr. Hirose said

Kanou gently pressed on his torso and the patient groaned painfully, "His ribs might be puncturing an organ inside, we need to open him up soon,"

I shook my head in protest, "He has myocardial contusion, his heart is too unstable to operate on his other injuries," his irregular heart beat was already a bad indication that it will be a very risky surgery

"He is not going to make it on the table if we don't operate on his heart first, there might be a possible blood drainage or a blood vessel to be repaired," knowing the consequences the rest of the physicians tried to consider another approach while the cardio-surgeon attending was called in to perform the surgery right away.

The patient was immediately brought to the operating room, the other physicians following behind. As I was leaving the emergency room, Tora was rushing after them. He was also called in to check on the patient's head trauma. He nodded at me before going inside the room. I removed the bloody gloves and washed my hands before going to the cafeteria to grab a much needed coffee.

Being a doctor is a very hard job, doing a half-assed job is not an option for this line of work. You either give your best, every single day or drop out and quit before its too late. From a simple misdiagnosis or a mistake during a surgery, life and death is in your hands. It is very exhausting and difficult but being able to save lives and help people makes it all worth it at the end. I haven't experienced anything better than seeing my patients and their loved ones' grateful faces and making a difference in my patients' lives, I wouldn't exchange this for anything else.

After taking a sip from my coffee, the raven haired girl crossed my mind. I stopped on my tracks and walked back to the stand to make another cup of coffee. With the recent budget cut at the hospital, there has been a shortage in staff. Everyone, especially the nurses have been extending their shifts and hours for additional help. She would need this in order to survive the next few hours.

With most admitted patients already sleeping in their rooms, it was very quiet in the second floor compared to the noisy and chaotic ER.

My lips curved into a smile when I found her innocently and peacefully sleeping on her chair, hunched forward and only using her arms as pillows. Her exhaustion and fatigue was evident on her face, no wonder it was very easy for her to fall asleep even in an uncomfortable position.

I went around the desk and crouched down beside her. Soundly sleeping, her guards were down and her expression was peaceful. It was very rare to see this side of her when I was used to being greeted by her scowls and glares. Probably the reason why I still get stunned and amazed whenever I see her smile

I could see some goosebumps forming on her arms, my long sleeves and white coat kept me comfortable and unaware of the low temperature. I put down her cup of coffee beside her paper works and headed back to the on-call room.

 **-Misaki's POV-**

I opened my eyes and glanced at the wall clock to check the time, it read 3:30 AM. An exhausted sigh escaped my throat, there was three more hours left before the end of my 12-hour shift. After stretching my limbs, a blanket draped over me fell on the floor. I slightly arched my brows as I grabbed the fleecy material. _Where did this came from?_

Thinking that it might have been Shizuko's, I neatly folded it and put it aside to get started on the patients records when I noticed a cup of coffee sitting right next to the mountain of paper works. I looked around me to see if any of my co-workers was nearby, it was very still and quiet and only the beeping sound of the machine in the room of the patient across me could be heard. Most of the nurses must be checking on the patients in the ICU or taking a quick rest in the break room.

A yellow sticky note sitting on top of the cup caught my attention. I peeled it away and a smile formed on my lips as I read the note:

 _'I hope you are dreaming of me -T'_

"Why are you smiling?" Shizuko came out of nowhere

I immediately tried to conceal my expression, "Nothing," I said as I folded the paper and stuffed it to my pocket. She raised her eyebrows and took the seat beside me

"Dr. Walker was here a while ago,"

"Why? Did he say something?" I sounded a little bit too excited, I cleared my throat and acted aloof "Did he ask for something?"

"He just said that he's leaving for an hour later to get some stuff from his apartment, so if there's any changes on the patients just write him a note,"

"Oh. Okay,"

"Are you two going out?" she suddenly asked

"What? NO!" I covered my mouth from the sudden rise of my voice.

"Be careful of him," I stared at her in confusion

"Why?"

"He has a reputation with the ladies. I heard he is kind of a player," the news took me by surprise but I tried to keep my expression neutral. He mentioned before that he was dating around but why was I disheartened to hear this kind of rumour about him?

"Don't worry I am not planning to get involved with him," I tried to reassure her.

She watched me carefully, "Are you sure about that? Nobody can resist Dr. Walker's charms,"

"You did."

"It's a different story, he is not my type so it doesn't work on me,"

"He is not my type either," I said nonchalantly

"Oh please. You guys are attracted to each other, everyone in the hospital is talking about you two,"

A blush crept up my face, "How did you even come up with that? And what the hell is everyone saying about us?"

"You know how news travel around here so fast. Someone saw you two on a coffee date and he is always asking about you," my face became redder in embarrassment

"We were just talking and it didn't mean anything," my voice was rising up again from trying to defend my reputation.

"Alright. Alright," she chuckled, "If you say it didn't mean anything then I believe you,"

 _7:10 AM_

The cold crisp air hit my face as soon as I stepped out of the hospital doors, with the summer almost ending, morning has become a bit chillier and the leaves are starting to dry up and turn yellow and orange.

Since the hospital was located in the commercial area of the city, the streets and roads were already busy with cars and people making their way to work or in my case, back to their houses to get some needed sleep. Our apartment was just a walking distance from the hospital, holding my jacket tighter around my body I began my walk. The sun was just starting to rise, the sky was decorated with beautiful pink and orange hues of clouds.

The ringing of my phone pulled me out of my musing

"Hey. Are you still at home?" I increased my steps as I approached the last block to my building. I wanted to catch Sakura before she leaves.

"You just left?" I groaned

"I wanted to wish you good luck in person," I pouted

After facing a difficult problem at work; aka her spiteful employer, Sakura decided to quit her job. She didn't waste time at all and started applying at different establishments for a job opportunity even if it wasn't as a dental assistant. She said that she didn't want to be a burden to me. A part of me still feels responsible for her situation but I am trying to see the better side of this temporary hurdle. After two weeks of handing out resumes, she finally got a call three days ago for a job interview at a call center.

"Don't worry. I know you will kill that interview," I went through the revolving doors in the lobby of our 20 story high apartment

"Good luck, I will see you later," I ended the call and tried to catch one elevator that was about to close

"Hold the door," I yelled out as I ran towards it. I smiled in relief as I reached the door on time, I put my hands between the doors to keep it from closing and entered the small space.

"Thank you," I looked up to face the only passenger and my shoulders sagged down as I stared in total disbelief.

"You got to be kidding me," an exasperated sigh escaped my lips as I looked at the emerald-eyed man smugly, smiling at me

"Well. Hello, neighbour."

* * *

 _"Misaki, its not-"_

 _"You dont have to explain," she headed to her door._

 _"Wait-"_

 _"I really don't want to hear about your sexual exploits or learn about what you like to do on your free time. Please leave me out of it,"_


	11. The One With The Wrong Accusation

**-Misaki's POV-**

My mood was in high spirits despite feeling exhausted and worn out, after working continuously for the last six days I will finally have a few days off to catch up with some needed sleep. I got into the elevator and pressed 16 on the button panel. The only drawback of our small little break is that our schedules will be changed once again and we are back to working early in the morning. Like what the other seniors have told us, our first few years as a nurse will not be an easy ride. We are only starting out and I can already feel the adverse reaction, with the graveyard shifts, irregular schedules and constant feeling of tiredness, you will think nursing school passed by in a breeze.

The elevator stopped on my floor and I stepped into the carpeted hallway. The walk to my door only brought memories of my encounter with Dr. Walker last week. Finding out that not only does we live in the same building; his apartment was also on the same floor and right next to mine. I wasn't overexcited to learn about this news, I could already imagine what kind of rumours will be going around the hospital if someone sees us going home together.

Since the location of the apartment building was in the busy part of the town and close to a lot of establishments, most of the tenants in the building are either hospital employees or office workers. I have also bumped into a few other nurses from my department also residing here, it was a perfect walking distance from the hospital. No wonder he also chose this building to live in. In the still quietness, a door opened up at the far end of the hall. A tall girl wearing a sexy lingerie holding her heels and the rest of her clothes was pushed outside the hallway.

She gave the person inside an incredulous look, "What are you doing?" she tried to walk back in but a hand stopped her.

My footsteps became slower as I slowly come closer to them. Realizing that she was standing right next to my apartment, my eyebrows knitted together.

"I am sorry, I can't do this," the man said

The woman scoffed in disbelief and walked away from him. She stomped past me, not an ounce embarrassed about her appearance. I could only shake my head in disappointment at the man next door, I approached the open door and glanced inside to find the owner standing by the door clad with only a pair of very tight boxers. I paused in my tracks in shock, his reaction also mirrored mine. I quickly recollected myself and hurriedly walked to my door

"Misaki," he followed me

I opened my purse and rummaged inside to find the damn key of my apartment. Even in my peripheral vision I could clearly see his well-built body and everything else.

"Please put some clothes on," he looked down on himself and quickly went back inside his apartment

Before I could find my keys, he was already back outside slipping and fumbling into a pair of plaid pajama bottoms. He was still half naked and it took every ounce of self discipline to not sneak a look. _Where the hell are my damn keys?_ I was becoming more impatient as seconds passed by

"It is not what you think-"

"Takumi," I finally looked up, "You don't have to explain to me," I forced a smile.

My hands finally felt my keys in the bottom and I pulled it out of my purse

"Misaki, I didn't even know that she was in my apartment. I just got home from my shift and she was already inside-"

I rolled my eyes, "Now that we are neighbors, I really don't want to know about your sexual exploits or learn about what you like to do in your free time," I pushed my door open and gave him one final look, "Please leave me out of it,"

"It's not like tha-" I closed the door to his face. Once inside, I leaned my head on the door and gently banged it against the frame. _I will never un-see that again._

"Misa," I turned around to see my roommate casually eating a toast on the kitchen counter.

"You were here and you didn't even open the door for me,"

"I heard you talking to the hot doctor so I let you guys be," she grinned at me proudly, like she was doing me some kind of favour

I sighed in defeat and decided to change to topic, "How was work?"

"Pretty good so far, I am still trying to get the hang of it," completely disregarding the scene a while ago, I focused my attention to her.

"This is only temporary right? You can't let your degree go to waste to do something you don't like,"

She gave me a small smile, "This is life. I guess, sometimes things will not go our way but as long as I am earning some money and helping out with the bills at home, its fine. I will still try to see some job openings at the clinics around but its very competitive nowadays so it might take a while for a position to open up."

I stayed quiet for a few seconds

"Don't worry, this is pretty liberating actually," her face lit up in excitement, "We are 26 and we are experiencing so many things together. I am pushing through and doing things I never thought I could do,"

I smiled, I never thought I would hear this from Sakura. From the girl who was very dependent on her friends throughout high school and college. The person who couldn't even hold a job because she didn't have her priorities straight. It was nice to see that she was maturing and finally experiencing the real world.

"I like your positivity," I grabbed another toast from her plate and munched on it beside her, "Mind giving me some of it,"

"How about you give that hot neighbor of ours a chance and go on a date with him," I tried to ignore what she just said.

"Come on, Misaki you haven't been on a date for three years. You need to get laid," I choked back on my bread

"What the hell are you saying?"

"What?" she asked innocently.

Despite her harmless and innocent look, she was nothing but a cunning and manipulative fox. She might be maturing but her personality will be something that will never change

"We are just friends,"

She rolled her eyes, "Oh Come On. You can't be friends with him,"

"and why not?" I raised a brow.

"Misaki, there are guys that you can be friends with and guys that you just cannot," she emphasized the last word for me to understand better.

"What?"

"Okay. I will give you an example. That Hinata guy that asked you out, do you think you can be friends with him?"

"I AM friends with him,"

"Yes because you don't feel anything towards him. You don't feel awkward or nervous around him," she suddenly got my attention.

"How about that hot doctor, Takumi Walker. Do you think you can be friends with him?"

"Yeah," I thought for a second, "I think so. He can be very infuriating sometimes but I can tolerate him,"

"Wrong,"

"What? Why?"

"You can't be friends with him because there is sexual tension between you two," I bursted into laughter after hearing her analysis, I actually thought she would make some sense.

"How the heck did you come up with that?" I shook my head in disbelief

"You feel bothered by his presence, you get annoyed at everything he says and even when he does a nice gesture for you, you take it as some kind of joke or harassment because you are trying to push aside your feelings because he is exactly your type,"

I stiffened on my spot, her words suddenly hitting me like a brick. Seeing my expression, she banged her hands on the counter and did her little victory dance, "I know you so well," she waggled her eyebrows at me.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"ugh. Misaki, this was exactly how you were acting when you met Tora. Do you always try to push away guys that you like?"

"No. I don't know," I dropped the bread back to the plate, "I have issues okay, so shut it already," she chuckled at me as I walked away

"Good night, hope you dream of him again," she yelled after me.

I slammed the door behind me, I knew I shouldn't have told her about that.

-xx-

 **-Takumi's POV-**

After doing a consultation with my patient, I handed back the chart to Misaki who still remained distant and emotionless towards me. She quickly turned around and headed back to the nurse's station.

"Hey," I followed her out, "About what happened the other day," I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. I didn't expect that she would walk into that scene like that.

After ending a long on-call shift, I was excited to sleep in my own bed. Quickly stripping out of my clothes once I got home, unaware of another person who was waiting for me inside. Thanks to my very supportive and meddlesome friend who gave a girl who I went on a date once, a key to my apartment. He said that it was his little surprise since he knew that I haven't hooked up with someone in a while. I could only groan in frustration at my friend's antics, I knew he meant well but sometimes he could get out of line.

"Like I said, you don't owe me any explanation. You can do whatever you want," I smirk formed on my lips after hearing her reply

"Are you jealous?" I whispered

She scoffed at my question, "Why would I be jealous?"

We stopped in front of the counters and she quickly passed the chart to Satsuki before turning around to face me

"It was just a misunderstanding," I tried to explain to her

She sighed and walked away before I could run after her I heard my name being called.

"There he is," I looked ahead and spotted Kuuga walking towards me with the chief of doctors, Dr. Fuiji.

"I have been looking all over for you," Dr. Fuiji said. The staff around quickly greeted him and he nodded at them in acknowledgement.

Kuuga patted me in the back, "I knew I would find you here,"

"Why are you always hanging around the nurse's station? Your office is downstairs," the chief raised his brows at me.

"Because he is infatuated with this new nurse," he excitedly mentioned.

I glanced at him and he quickly closed his mouth, he knew I was still annoyed of what he did to me the other day.

"You should have just paged me, chief,"

"I have to tell you something privately," he lowered his voice, "Come with me."

We walked into the elevator, "What's happening?"

He pressed the top number on the button panel and I raised my eyebrow at him. The sixth floor was where the VIP's stay in the hospital. It must be a very serious case if the chief himself was being secretive about it.

The top floor only had a few room exclusively for very important people. The last person who occupied the whole floor was one of the senators, a few years back when he got into a very bad car accident. Reporters camped outside the hospital for days looking for scoops

He finally started speaking after the elevator started moving, "One of the board of directors had a heart attack this morning. Luckily, their family doctor was there and he was able to perform first aid on him. He was rushed here a while ago and his family wanted to keep this under wraps and prevent the media from finding out," I nodded my head in understanding, "He has been complaining about chest pains for a few months now but he refused to get medical help, now that it escalated quickly his family want to make sure that we determine the cause and cure him right away,"

"You know how influential these people are, its hard to make a mistake," Kuuga muttered out loud and the chief agreed silently.

Once we got out of the elevator, the whole floor was surrounded by securities. The chief showed his ID and we followed suit.

After getting into the patient's room, we were greeted by his family waiting inside. The chief was a close friends to them, he walked up to the patient's wife who had tear stained cheeks.

"Hello, Beatrice," he gave her a hug to console her, "Ryuu will be fine. We will take care of him,"

He redirected his attention to the older man laying down the bed, "How are you doing?"

"I will be fine once I get out of this bed and this damn hospital," he replied, irritated.

"Dad, we have to make sure you are safe and healthy," a younger man, dressed in a suit stood up from the couch and walked closer to us.

"I heard you are one of the best cardiologist in Japan, a pretty big accomplishment for someone as young as you," he carefully scrutinized me.

"All the money we contributed to this hospital will go to waste if something bad happen to my father," I remained unfazed by his intimidation, it will take more than that to scare me. The corner of my mouth curved into a daunting smile.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked in response to my reaction.

"Don't threaten the doctor, son," the patient interjected, "I am sure Hiroshi, only hired the best doctors in his hospital,"

Despite being close with the patient, I could sense a superiority coming from the business mogul over the chief. He quickly nodded his head, "Of course, of course. Dr. Walker is very good at his job, your father is in good hands," he reassured them

"I still want my father to be alive for a few more decades," he said matter-of-factly.

"I only have a few years in my life, that is why you have to get married soon and have kids before I die," the younger man sneered at his comment.

"Lets focus on your health first, honey," Beatrice cooed.

"Just make sure you don't make any mistakes," his gold eyes bored into mine.

"I will try my best, Mr. Igarashi," I replied

"Please, just call me Tora," he extended his hand to me and I firmly shook it, "It is nice to meet you, Dr. Walker," he grinned.

* * *

 _"Misaki can you deliver these scans to Dr. Walker?" Satsuki called me over_

 _"Where is he?"_

 _"6th floor, Room 601,"_

 _"I have never been there yet," I said as I grabbed the scans from her_

 _ _Hinata walked closer to us,_ "Its the VIP room, I heard a business mogul was admitted here last night," he whispered_

 _"Yeah. I heard the floor was surrounded with securities," Yukimura also joined in our conversation._

 _"I wonder who it is,"_

* * *

 **A/N:** Hehe what do you think is going to happen now that he's back? Thanks for reading :)


	12. The One With The Gossip

**A/N:** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, especially to my avid reviewers, you guys know who you are LOL. You guys dont know how much I appreciate reading your feed backs every chapter. You guys are the best :)

* * *

As soon as I stepped into the hospital's vicinity, I sensed something different. A bunch of security was surrounding the area and a few reporters were loitering around. This has never happened before. From the usual chatter-filled lobby and reception, it was unusually quiet, the staffs were also acting very reserved and cautious.

Spotting Hinata separating away from a group huddled outside the break room and whispering away. Becoming curious and feeling left behind, I grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to solicit some information.

"What is happening?"

"You haven't heard yet?"

I lifted a brow, "About what?"

"Misaki." Satsuki yelled out from her chair when she saw us.

We walked towards her, "Do you have some time?"

I glanced at the clock, I didn't have to check on my patient until in an hour, "Yes I do."

"Do you mind giving this to Dr. Walker?" I grabbed the brown envelope from her which was securely sealed.

"Where is he?"

"Sixth floor, room 601,"

"I have never been there before,"

"It's the VIP room," Hinata leaned closer, "I heard a business man was rushed here yesterday,"

Yukimura who was passing by heard the conversation and also leaned closer, "I heard he is one of the richest man in Japan and one of the biggest investor of the hospital. They closed off the entire floor just for him,"

Satsuki's eyes grew bigger as she looked at the two boys in surprise, "Hey, how did you know about that? It was supposed to be a secret,"

"Satsuki, everyone in the hospital is talking about it,"

"I saw some reporters outside," I added

She groaned and leaned back on her chair, "The Chief is going to kill me. How did the word get out?" she mused out loud.

"Maybe someone saw him getting transported here or one of the staffs conveyed the information," Yukimura shrugged.

Hinata eyed Satsuki, "Who is it anyway?"

"I thought you all knew already?"

"We just know that the man is filthy rich," Hinata said

"Not telling," she shook her head, "Get on your way now before I start scolding you," she waved her hands away and we chuckled.

"See you guys around," excusing myself, I left the three on their own.

Miya was exiting one of the room in the far end of the hall when she saw me, "Hey, did you finish your patient's charts?"

"Yes."

"Did you check on your patient yet?"

"I will do it after I deliver these,"

She crossed her arms and furrowed her perfectly shaped eyebrows, "Where are you going?"

I tried very hard not to roll my eyes in front of her. Since her last encounter with Dr. Walker, she has been unusually very attentive of everything I do, probably looking for an opportunity to see me screw up and get me in trouble.

"I am delivering these scans to Dr. Walker,"

-x-

 **Takumi's POV**

The entire sixth floor was still surrounded with security, a few were guarding the door to the patient's room and nly limited personnel have access including myself and the chief. Arriving early in the morning, I headed to Mr. Igarashi's room to discuss to him and his family about his condition and the options available for him. It was not everyday that one of the hospital's executives and one of the richest business man in Japan gets a diagnostic treatment from me. And everyone especially the chief was on their toes making sure that everything was perfect and in order for the man. No wonder these people get whatever they want, their power and money can bring anyone down on their knees for them. But as a doctor I see each patient as equal no matter what their status in life is and I wasn't planning on treating him and family differently just because of their money.

Arriving on the sixth floor, the security greeted me and immediately gave me permission to enter the room. His family was all present when I walked in.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Igarashi,"

"Good morning Dr. Walker," Mrs. Igarashi greeted back.

"I have seen your results earlier today. There is a blood clot forming in your artery which was causing your chest discomfort for the last few months. The blood clot blocked the blood flow in your heart and caused your heart attack yesterday. We can do an angioplasty to prevent your risk of another heart attack,"

"A surgery? Wouldn't that be very dangerous especially at his age," the wife exclaimed.

"It is minimally invasive, I will be personally doing the procedure if you decide to go through with it,"

"Aren't you just a cardiologist? Can you also do a surgery?" Tora's asked

"Yes. But I also had additional training to perform catheter-based procedures such as angioplasty and stenting," I informed them. The chief put his trust in me and personally asked for me to perform the procedure.

"I am not going under a knife, how the hell would you know if I will wake up after the surgery?"

"Like I said it is not a major surgery and only requires puncturing an artery in your arm or legs to your heart using a very small tube or a catheter. There are definitely risks involved especially involving a surgery on a major organ but this is our best option,"

"I will be fine," he protested, "I am not going to die in a hospital table,"

"As your doctor, I strongly advice that we do this as soon as possible before you suffer from another heart attack. You might not be too lucky on the next one," I said frankly and straight to the point, I wasn't planning to sugar coat the risk to them.

The older Igarashi shot me a look but remained quiet, weighing my words and his own belief

"Listen to the doctor, he knows what is best for you," Tora spoke up, "We will do it,"

"Tora," he tried to object.

"He knows what he is saying. I just want to make sure he doesn't make any mistake during the procedure," he indirectly said the last sentence to me.

The knock on the door interrupted us and the head security entered the room

"Excuse me Doctor, a nurse is here to bring your scans,"

Bobbing my head, "Yes. Yes Please let her in,"

The security opened the door wide enough for her to pass through.

"Dr. Walker, here are your scans," she walked towards me and handed me the envelope, she turned to the patient and bowed her head politely.

The Igarashi's looked at her indifferently.

"Good morning. I am Miya Arami and I will be your nurse,"

* * *

 **Misaki's POV**

I stopped in front of the reception desk of the laboratory centre in the first floor and greeted the male technician busily typing away on his computer.

"Can I get the result of the biopsy for Aki Yamada?" he looked up from his computer and with a bored look, stood from his chair and walked to the back room.

Without giving me much information, Miya ordered me to get a patient's results after finding out that I was going to deliver the scans to the sixth floor. For her to actually make me run some errands, If I didn't know her any better, I would think that I was finally gaining her trust but in reality I knew she just wanted to make a good impression on the executives.

A moment later, the technician came back with a piece of paper. He returned to his seat without saying anything and I quickly checked the result to make sure it was the right one, a feeling of remorse ran through my body as I fixated on the histological findings. The number of percentage under the column: Malignant was higher than Benign which means that the sample extracted from the patient was cancerous. With a dejecting result, I made my way to the third floor to give the result to Dr. Sakurai.

The neurosurgeon was already in the patient's room when I arrived, he was explaining to him the result of his MRI and brain scan.

"Good morning, Dr. Sakurai. Miya sent me to give you the result of the patient's biopsy,"

He stared at me for a second before focusing back on the patient, "Thank you,"

I gave the patient a smile and he responded with a weak smile. He was still in his early thirties and I couldn't imagine what he might be going through. I immediately vacated the room before I hear the doctor break the news to him.

-x-

"Are you Misaki?" I looked up and Dr. Sakurai was leaning over the desk with a cunning smile. I knitted my brows together, this was my first time meeting him in person. Blonde hair, brown eyes and boyish charm, I am sure he is a hit to a lot of ladies.

"Yes I am,"

"Nice to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you," I looked at him in confusion I wonder what kind of rumour about me was making its way around the hospital

Sensing my bewilderment, he quickly tried to explain himself, "Don't worry it is nothing bad. It seems like my best friend is really smitten with you,"

"Your best friend?"

"Takumi," he chuckled

A slight blush crept up my face with the mention of his name, I glanced to my friend Shizuko who was sitting on the front desk. She was busy typing in her computer but I knew she could here us.

"Anyway, can you update the records of the patient in room 310," he handed me his chart

"We will be booking a surgery as soon as possible and we will follow through with chemotherapy,"

"How bad is it?"

"Luckily it was detected right away and there hasn't been any damage to his brain yet. I am hoping that we will be able to remove all the traces of cancer on his brain during the surgery. Even after the chemo and surgery, we are still uncertain if the cancer will return again," I nodded my head in understanding, this was the sad part of working in a hospital.

"Alright. I will get to that right away,"

His pager suddenly beeped, he bid a quick goodbye and left.

With a heavy heart I started writing on the patient's record. Doctors were taught about human body, learns how to diagnose, cure or operate on the patient but there are things that will always be out of their hands. There's a limit of how much we can do to help, at the end we have to deal with the feelings of inadequacy because there's only so much that we can do. But as long as I can help other people, I would never give this up for anything else.

"Excuse me," someone called out, "Can you point me to the cafeteria, I seemed to lost my way,"

"Its down the hall on your left," Shizuko responded.

"Thank you," the voice was very familiar.

"No problem."

I stopped from my work and looked back just in time to see his face before he turned around. Gold pools, blonde hair and familiar features, I couldn't make a mistake. I was too shocked to move on my chair; I could feel the blood draining from my face. _Why is he here?  
_

Seeing him in flesh, I couldn't think of anything else. I could only feel the fast beating of my heart and the muddled feelings inside me.

"Tora," I mumbled.

* * *

 **A/N:** I am so sorry this chapter was very short. I promise I will make it up to you guys next chapter, thanks for your patience :) For now here is a little preview of the next chapter.

* * *

 _"What are you doing tonight?"_

 _"Why do you have to know?" I scowled_

 _"As your neighbor, I need to know this kind of stuff,"_

 _"If you really need to know. I am planning to drink some wine and take a warm bubble bath," I need some time to think._

 _"Mind if I join you?" my face reddened, I brought up my fist and punched him on the arm. He chuckled in response._

 _"Dr. Walker," someone called out. We stopped on our tracks_

 _"Mr. Igarashi," Takumi turned around to face him._

 _"Misa, this is Mr. Igarashi," he glanced at me_

 _"Just call me Tora," I turned around and locked eyes with golden pools. The smile on his face vanished as he stared at me in shock_


	13. The One Where Misaki Met Her Ex

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the late update, I have been very busy with school. Anyway, this is going to be a long chapter, I hope you guys wont get bored reading it haha. This is especially for **Kimi Ayuzawa** who has been requesting for a longer chapter, thanks for your awesome and encouraging reviews :). Of course this is also my way of thanking everyone who made it possible for me to reach 100+ reviews. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed this story and to those who still continues to read my story.

Shout out to **violet167** who is my 100th reviewer haha. Thank you for reading and for all of your reviews :)

 **padfootstarfyre:** I actually like your idea, thank you. I will try to include that in the story line in the future chapters. Thanks for always giving me your feedback.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The One Where Misaki Met Her Ex**

Staring back at my reflection in the mirror, I could see the dark circles forming under my eyes. Consumed with thoughts and never-ending scenarios playing in my head, I wasn't able to sleep a wink last night. It seemed like life was playing a prank on me and all I wanted to do was to wake up from this horrible nightmare. Seeing him again, I feel confused, terrified and nervous. I took a deep breath and cupped some cold water to splash it to my face. Feeling more refreshed and awake, I dried my face and headed to the break room to take a rest.

I took a seat on one of the tables near the back wall, away from the door entrance where the other employees will be walking in and out. All I needed at that moment was peace and quiet. The clock strike at 1 pm and the other nurses began pouring in, including Hinata and Yukimura who found me and joined me on the table as they chatter away.

"Misaki, are you okay?" Yukimura asked as he took notice of my pale appearance. I snapped out of my reverie and tilted my head up.

"You look so pale,"

I gave them a weak smile," I am just tired."

"Here we can share my lunch," Hinata moved a Tupperware full of cut up fruits towards me. I grabbed a few strawberries and popped it into my mouth.

"Guess what?" Yukimura changed the topic, "I finally found out who is in the VIP room."

I silently listened while Hinata showed interest and smiled in excitement, "Who is it?"

"Ryuu Igarashi,"

"Doesn't he own one of the biggest corporation in the country?"

My heart sank after hearing his news, I already had a hunch that the reason Tora was here was because of a sick family member but after confirming my greatest fear, my anxiety increased even more. The world is just too small for us.

"He is one of the executive of the hospital too, a large sum of money coming into the hospital for charity works and funds comes from his own pocket,"

"What happened to him?" Hinata inquired.

"He had a heart attack and Dr. Walker will be operating on him," Yukimura replied.

"Heart attack?" I mumbled to myself.

"Dr. Walker better bring his A game, they are capable of taking his career if something goes wrong during the surgery," Hinata added

I hastily stood up from my chair. This was all getting too much for me to handle.

"Where are you going?" they asked in surprise.

"I need some fresh air."

-xx-

Lost in thought I walked along the corridors without a care of my surrounding.

"Misaki,"

"Misaki," I jumped back a bit from the sound of my name,

Takumi was making his way towards me, "Takumi," I casually nodded at him

"I am doing an angioplasty tomorrow. Do you want to assist me?"

I snapped my head to his direction and perked up, "Really? You will let me?"

He grinned at my reaction, "Why not? Its for the patient in 601,"

My eyebrows furrowed, "The VIP patient?"

"So you've heard,"

"um," I looked away, "It's okay, I will pass,"

The last thing Mr. Igarashi would like to see is my face right before he goes under a very dangerous surgery. He might actually have another heart attack if he sees me again. Coming from a poor and broken family, he never approved of me as someone worthy of his only successor.

"Are you okay?"

I exhaled, "I am fine,"

"You have been off the whole day," he watched me carefully.

"I am sorry. I'm just tired,"

Noticing my foul mood, he opted to not probe anymore. "Are you going out for your break?" he pointed at the sweater I was carrying.

"Yeah. No, I mean I am planning to go outside for some fresh air," with the winter slowly approaching, days were becoming much colder.

"Let me walk you out,"

"Its alright" I protested.

"I am heading the same way," he showed me his charming smile. Not having enough energy to argue, we continued walking.

"So, what are you doing tonight?"

"Why do you need to know?" I gave him a side glance

"As your neighbor, I need to know this stuff,"

I raised a brow, "I don't see the correlation between the two,"

"What if you went missing? At least I know what you were doing and where you were,"

"I swear you are a perverted stalker," he chuckled, "Why would I go missing?" I asked curiously.

"You might have another handsome stalker planning something towards you, aside from me of course."

I chortled, "That must be stupidest thing I have ever heard,"

"It made you laugh," he grinned as he glanced at me,

My lips broke into a smile, "That's true."

"Well, if you really must know, I am planning to stay in. I am going to have some wine and a well needed bubble bath,"

"Mind if I join you?" he asked

My face reddened, I brought up my fist and punched him on the arm.

"I didn't know you are a boxer as well," he nursed his arm

I faked a concerned look, "Sorry, did I punch you too hard?"

"Yeah." He rubbed a spot on his arm

"I didn't know you are such a baby,"

He raised his eyebrow and smirked, "-Will you take care of me then?"

I tried to hide the blush forming on my cheeks, "Shouldn't you be checking on your patients?"

"Since when did you become concerned of what I am doing?"

"Dr. Walker," someone called out from behind us

We stopped on our tracks and I felt my heart skip a beat. I recognized that voice.

"Mr. Igarashi," Takumi turned back to face the person.

"Do you have some time? I need to ask you a few questions," he requested.

"Alright, we can go to my office," remembering about me, he glanced back, "Misa, this is Mr. Tora Igarashi. I am doing a surgery on his father tomorrow,"

"Don't be too formal Dr. Walker, you can call me Tora," I could already imagine a smirk forming on his lips.

I felt my heart beating erratically and my hands were becoming sweaty from nervousness. I wanted to make a run for it but my feet were glued to the floor. My hold on my sweater tightened as I slowly turned around to finally face him. I locked eyes with his golden pools and the conceited smirk on his face disappeared as he recognized me. Time mush have come to a halt as we stared at each other for what felt like hours.

Finally seeing him in person, the tension and fright I was feeling was slowly replaced with disdain and fury. All I wanted to do was slap him across the face to make him feel my wrath.

"Misaki," he mumbled, his face scrunched up in disbelief.

"Tora," I acknowledged him and tried to act aloof. I wasn't planning to make a scene at my work place. I wasn't going to let him see how much his presence affected me. I will not make a fool out of myself for him again. I have learned my lesson and I wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

"H-how are you?" he looked me up and down, "I-I didn't know you were working here," he stated as he took in my appearance.

"I've been better," I replied in a cold tone, I didn't wait for his reply instead I faced Takumi to immediately excuse myself.

"If you'll excuse me, I will leave you two on your own,"

"Misaki. Wait," Tora grabbed my arm, "Can we talk?"

I harshly pulled it back, "Please," his eyes were full of earnestly.

He glanced to Takumi, "Dr. Walker, I will need a few minutes with her,"

Takumi pressed his lips together as he eyed the two of us in puzzlement. I could already imagine the number of questions in his head. I stared at his emerald pools, hoping he would understand the situation. I wasn't ready to talk to him in a civil manner, I know myself and this will end badly.

His face was hard to read as he looked back at me, even if I was in his position I wouldn't want to meddle in with something this complicated. I internally readied myself for the possible outcome of our meeting.

"I have a consultation right now and Misaki will be accompanying me," he said out loud, without breaking away from his stare.

My eyes widened in surprise at his sudden announcement. He took out his calling card and passed it to Tora.

"You can reach me in this number if you have any questions regrading your father's surgery, I will be happy to discuss it with you over the phone. Have a good day,"

Takumi walked past me and without looking back I followed him when a hand stopped me once again.

"Misaki. Please," his voice was laced with despair, I knew he wanted to make this right. I knew he wanted to explain himself. _But am I ready to hear the truth?_

Another hand reached and tugged on my left hand, I darted my eyes to it's owners. Takumi's face remained unreadable but his eyes were solemn.

"Lets go Misaki," he pulled me towards him.

"If you will excuse us, Mr. Igarashi," he curtly nodded before pulling me along with him.

His hand securely held mine as he led us away. My thoughts were in total disarray to pull back, I only realized that we were out of the confinement of the hospital when I felt the cold breeze blew on my face. Our view was of the skyscrapers and tall buildings of the city.

I scrunched my forehead, "Are we allowed here at the rooftop?"

"Is he your ex-boyfriend?" he asked, disregarding my previous question.

"Yes."

"I thought you were over him,"

I sighed, "I am but seeing him again after all these years, its like everything just came back to me. I am very mad and confused. I wanted to hurt him and yell at him but at the same time I wanted to ask him all of the questions I wasn't able to ask before," he crossed his arms while listening intently.

"But I don't know if I wanted to hear his answers. Will anything change if I learn the truth?" I closed my eyes in frustration.

"Do you still want to know the reason why he left?" he suddenly asked

I opened my eyes to look at him, "I don't know,"

"What should I do?" I asked him

"If I am being selfish I would tell you to never talk to him again and avoid him. But if I was in your position I would like to know the reason why my ex left me too. I still have many unanswered questions, if this is the only way I will get my answers then so be it,"

"You are right," I nodded my head and forced a smile, "Thanks."

He brought up his hand to the top of my head and patted it gently, I was slightly taken a back by his sudden gesture but feeling of warm and comfort enveloped me.

"I will be here for you if you need me. I am only one door away," he smirked and I felt a small flutter in my stomach

-xx-

It was past five in the afternoon and the sky was just clearing up from a slight drizzle. With the gloomy sky and chilly weather, there were only a few people standing outside the hospital including myself. A few staff was waiting for their rides while a few was out for some fresh air. Not caring about the wet benches, I sat on one facing the side of the building.

My phone rung a minute later and I received a message: _'He is on his way -T'_

Anxiety curled into my stomach at the thought of finding out the truth from his own mouth. _Isn't this what I deeply wanted three years ago?_

I looked up and saw him walking towards me, I could feel my pulse quickening from anticipation and nervousness. He still looked the same as before, the only difference was his polished look. Dark suit and neatly swept back hair, I would be very intimidated to approach him if I didn't know him.

He gingerly took a seat beside me and I caught a whiff of his intoxicating scent. Just like that his scent slapped me in the face, engulfing me with memories of our past.

"How are you?" he asked once again.

I wanted to shove to his face how I have moved on from him. That I picked myself up despite leaving me broken. I wanted to burst at him and yell at him for everything he has done. But looking at his desolated face, I could only say three simple words.

"I am okay,"

"Good," he replied.

"How about you?" I mentally sneered at my question. I don't want to hear about his life after breaking up with me. How it was so easy for him to move on or how awesome his life still is. I wanted to ask why he never called me back. Why he never bothered to check up on me to see if I was still alright. And the question that kept me up countless of nights before: _why did he leave me?_

"I feel miserable," I was slightly taken a back. That was not the answer I was expecting.

"That makes two of us then," I laughed, bitterly.

"I didn't know you were going to be a nurse," he said.

"Lots of things changed after you left," _-me_

"When did you move to Tokyo?"

"A few months ago,"

He nodded his head and we stayed in an uncomfortable silence. I never expected I would feel this way with him. He was the person I could spend every day, every seconds of my day, stay in silence and never feel uneasy. I could just stare into his golden eyes and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but in his arms. But now, the silence was deafening it was a very unpleasant feeling.

"I am sorry," the words escaped his lips in a flash.

"Why?" I replied. It was the only word I could muster and the only word that could describe my feelings at the moment

"I had my reasons," he mumbled.

I remained quiet, waiting for his answers that was long due

"I didn't want to leave you, Misaki,"

I scoffed, "Then why?"

"I had to."

"Tora, I don't have all day to wait for you. I already waited for you before and I am not planning to make the same mistake again,"

I was about to stand up- "My father's business went bankrupt four years ago," I stopped.

I looked at him in confusion. Why was I hearing this now?

"Nobody knew about it, my parents tried very hard to keep anyone from finding out. The only solution they had was to marry me off to someone and merge our companies to save our business. He wanted me to break up with you, if I didn't do it he told me that he would get your family involved. You know he is capable of doing anything," he faced me.

I looked at him in disbelief, "You showed up in my door steps and told me that you never loved me. I tried to reach out to you and give you the benefit of the doubt because I trusted you so much. I knew you were never going to break my trust and I believed you but in the end you still did. Why didn't you tell me all of this before?" I shook my head, my eyes welling up with tears.

His lifted his right hand to wipe the tears on my cheeks but I swatted it away, "How the hell do you expect me to forgive you after doing that to me?"

He winced at my action and looked down dejectedly, "I know you would do anything for me, you would drop everything and risk yourself just to help me. I also knew there was no way out of my arranged marriage and I didn't want you to suffer because of me so I decided it was best to just leave you but it wasn't the best decision since I am still regretting it every single day,"

"You don't know how much it broke my heart listening to your messages," his voice quivered, "I wanted to run back to you and beg for your forgiveness but I also had my responsibility to my parents. I admit I was wrong, I chose to help my family instead of fighting for what we had."

"My fiancé backed out of our engagement a year later but her family still decided to merge with our company and were able to get back on our feet. I wanted to find you again but I haven't had the courage to face you,"

I wiped the tears streaming down my face. I never felt more confused in my life. How the hell does he expect me to process all of this new revelation, "I don't know what to say?"

He reached for my hand, "I am very sorry."

"All these years I thought you never loved me," I closed my eyes as I recalled that moment that was etched into my mind.

"You don't know how much I regretted saying that." He tightened his hold on my hand

"I still love you, Misaki," I opened my eyes and stared at his golden pools. He reached for my face and wiped the tear stain on my cheeks, he slowly inched closer and I was enthralled by his spell once again. I closed my eyes as his face moved closer, once his lips pressed against mine, sense of familiarity and longing consumed me and at that moment, I realized, even after all these years…. I still love him….

* * *

 **A/N:** *hides behind a wall* I am so excited and scared to read your feed backs. What do you guys think of where the story is heading? Are you on #TeamTakumi or #TeamTora? hahaha. BTW I will be very busy with school for the next few months so the updates will be very irregular but I will try my best to write every chance I get and update every few weeks. For now I will leave you with this sneak peak. Thank you for reading :)

* * *

 _-Takumi's POV-_

 _I knocked on the door and I heard the person behind the door stumbling around, a moment later the door opened with a Misaki in an old tshirt and pair of sweats. Her eyes were a little swollen  
_

 _I brought up the plastic bag I was holding and she raised an eyebrow_

 _"What do you want?"_

 _"Need some company?" I asked  
_

 _She eyed the brown bag I was holding_

 _"Is that alcohol?"_

 _"Ice cream and chocolates for a broken-hearted lady?"_

 _"I am not broken-hearted," she eyed the bag once again, "Ben and Jerry: Cherry Garcia?"_

 _"Yup."_

 _She opened the door wider, "Come in,"_


	14. The One With the Scary Movie

**A/N:** Hello everyone, sorry for the late update I have been very busy with school these last few weeks. Anyway, it was so nice to read everyone's review last chapter, it was so exciting to see that we have a mix of #TeamTora and #TeamTakumi fans here haha. I am glad you didnt hate me for leaving the chapter like that. Thanks for your continuous support and for all of your wonderful reviews :)

* * *

 _-Takumi's POV-_

I faced the window and stared out to the cloudy sky. The downpour has come to an end and only the traces of its visit was left. A small sigh escaped my lips, the gloomy and cold weather depicting my feelings at the moment. The sound of voices from my left snapped me out of my reverie and the securities standing by the doors bowed politely to the young gentleman walking out of the patient's room with a grim expression.

"Good afternoon, Sir," one of his people greeted him. He slightly nodded his head before redirecting his attention to me.

He walked towards me, "What do you want?" his voice was laced with annoyance as his eyes bored into mine. The casualty and courtesy he showed before was thrown out of the window as he showed his true side.

"Misaki is waiting for you outside," I casually stated.

I was unsure what was going through my head when I offered to help her get in contact with the man who broke her heart. But here I was standing in front of him. Funny how things work sometimes. Never in a million years did I see myself doing something this incredulous.

I watched his expression slightly falter at the mention of her name. He quickly collected himself and furrowed his eyebrows

"What's your relationship with her?" He crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hard to say," his jaw clenched in irritation. A small smirk formed on my lips as I felt a small triumph in making him feel annoyed.

"Are you two together?" he noticed the smugness on my face waver at his inquisition and it was his turn to break into a devious grin.

"I wouldn't be doing this if we are," I avoided his gaze and shifted from my position uncomfortably. I felt a surge of unpleasant emotions rush through me.

He nodded in understanding, "Thanks for letting me know, Dr. Walker," a small grin was plastered on his face. He extended his hands towards me and with a bit of reluctance, I shook his hands. He knew

Hands in my pocket, I watched him walk to the exit and towards her to confront their past. I shoved the negative thoughts into the back of my head and supress the feelings bubbling up like I usually does. I don't have any rights to feel this way. She's not mine after all.

-xx-

I stopped in front of a dark mahogany door similar to mine and knocked furiously. It was only past nine and I knew the person behind the door was still wide awake. A few seconds passed by and I heard cluttering on the other side and foot steps running to the door. A moment later the door creaked open and with a cynical look on her face, Misaki arched her brows at me. She was in her most unassuming form, messy bun, no make up and swollen, red eyes. I could already imagine how their confrontation went.

"What do you want?" She spat out

"Need some company?" I gave her my charming smile.

She remained dubious of my intention but eyed the brown bag I was holding.

"Is that alcohol?"

"Ice cream and chocolates for a broken-hearted lady?" I brought up my hand and waved the bag in front of her.

"I am not broken-hearted," she said before eyeing the bag once again, "Ben and Jerry, Cherry Garcia?"

"Yup,"

I could see her face lighting up a bit. She opened the door wider, "Come in,"

I shook my head at her and stepped into her apartment. The hallway, kitchen and the living room looks identical to mine expect for the furniture's and a few feminine touches here and there. I never seen her as a very feminine type so I am assuming it was her room mate who decorated their place.

"I thought you would be in a bath tub with a glass of wine," I teased as I make my way to the living room

She shot me a look, conveying that she wasn't in the mood to joke around, "Is that why you came over?"

I glanced around her, "I told you I wanted to join you," I said nonchalantly. A throw pillow hit my head a second after.

"Get out!"

I put my hands up, "I am kidding. I am kidding,"

She rolled her eyes and flopped down at the end of the couch while I took a seat on the other end, putting some distance between us.

"Mind telling me what happened?"

"It is none of your business," she snapped

"Why did you let me in, then?" she remained quiet, "I know you need someone to talk to,"

"I don't want to talk about it," I saw a blush crept up her face, "I just need some company,"

Her sudden response took me by surprise. _She's is so sly._ Instead of pushing my luck, I let it slide and changed the topic.

"What is your evening agenda?"

"I am planning to watch a movie but I can't pick," she picked up the remote and scrolled through the movie listings.

"Are we going to watch some chick flicks?"

"I am not in the mood for that. I want to watch a horror movie,"

"Here let me choose," she passed me the remote as I continued searching, "I heard the Conjuring 2 was good."

She nodded her head, "I will make some popcorn,"

xx

She dimmed the light in the living room but left the light open in the hallway and the kitchen and took a seat with a bowl of buttered popcorn. The movie started and we were greeted with a jump scare 5 minutes into the movie. I remained still since I don't get scared easily. What made me jump back on my seat was the scream and yelp coming from the woman beside me. I looked at her in amusement, she was huddled at the end of the couch, wrapped with a blanket and looking at the screen through the glass bowl of popcorn she was tightly holding. She felt my stare and glanced back.

"What?"

I held in my laugh and shook my head, "Nothing. I didn't know you get scared easily."

She huffed angrily and looked around to find the remote control. It was right beside me, we made eye contact before she dove for it. I reached for it first and held it up above my head as she tried to reach for it.

"Give it to me," she pushed me against the arm of the couch putting us in a compromising position

"I am just joking around," I chuckled. Realizing that she was too close for her comfort, she immediately reverted back to her old self and returned to her spot at the other end of the couch.

"Do you want me to leave?" she remained quiet

"Lets continue the movie," she said.

We stayed in silence and continued watching the rest of the movie. From her position on the other side of the couch, by the time we reached the half of the movie she was already sitting a few inches away from me. She extended her arm holding the bowl of popcorn towards me. I grabbed it from her and took a few while putting it down on my lap. She scooted closer to me to reach for more. Sitting close to her, I could feel her body jerking back whenever a scary scene pops up or the small squeals she makes whenever they show the scary faces. It was a surprise to see this side of her and I could only smile in amusement.

As the night progressed, we found ourselves with a bottle of wine and sharing a tub of ice cream. With feet propped up against the wall she laid down on the end of the couch. The conversation was mostly about work and other trivial things, we have yet to uncover the one subject she had been dodging the whole night.

After her fourth glass she has became quiet, I observed her carefully from my spot as she stared at the ceiling, lost in her own thoughts.

"He didn't want to leave," she said out of nowhere.

I remained quiet as she continued, "His parents went bankrupt four years ago and he was forced to an arranged marriage. He wanted to come back to me but he didn't want to put me in a difficult situation. He was torn between helping his family and me,"

"I know it was wrong that he lied to me and completely abandoning me. But after learning the truth," she closed her eyes.

"What I believed for three years was all a lie. He did love me. He still does…"

I looked away and shifted on my seat as I prepared myself to ask the next question, "Do you still love him?"

She paused for a second, "I don't think I ever stopped loving him,"

My gaze moved to the glass I was holding, I could only nod in understanding. What else was I supposed to do?

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," her eyes were becoming heavy as she fought to keep awake

"I am still confused about my feelings and I don't know if I am ready to fully forgive him yet,"

"Thanks for always being there for me, Takumi," she mumbled. I bittersweet smile formed on my lips.

I stayed in my seat to collect my thoughts, a heavy feeling was pulling down on me and it was hard to ignore. I stood up a few minutes later and straightened her legs to put her in a more comfortable position. I grabbed the blanket she hung on the back of the couch and draped it over her, her breathing was even. I crouched down on the floor and watched her sleeping form, her breathing was even and her face looked more peaceful. My hands reached for her hair and I tucked a few lose hair behind her ear and traced the side of her face. It has been a while since I felt these kind of feelings, it has been a while since someone made me feel this way and it was scaring the crap out of me. I was always able to suppress and control my emotions but why do I become helpless when it comes to her?

It is already hard enough to entertain the idea that I am starting to like someone but falling for someone whose heart belongs to someone else makes it so much more difficult. What the hell am I supposed to do?

My fingers moved on their own, feeling the smooth of her cheeks, one thing I was sure of was that I never want to see her cry again. I never want to bring sadness into her eyes. The pad of my thumb moved to her lips. I only want to see her smile. I moved closer and planted a small kiss on her cheeks,

"Sweet dreams, Misaki," I mumbled. I opened a lamp in the living room in case she gets scared of the dark and checked on her once again before walking out of her apartment and back to my pad.

-x-

My eyes fluttered open once I heard the door close. I could still feel the loud thump in my chest, my hand reached for my cheek where I could still feel the warmth of his lips against my skin. I took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling in bewilderment. _I have never been more confused in my whole life_ …

* * *

 _-Preview-_

 _I supported her as she struggled to walk in a straight line._

 _"You do crazy shit when you are drunk," I sighed as I push open the door to our building.  
_

 _We stopped in front of the elevators while she was sitting on the floor with her eyes closed._

 _"Lets get you home," I pulled her up with one hand and held her by the waist  
_

 _"Takumi," her hand reached my head and she ruffled my hair not too gently. She put her arms around my neck and leaned on my chest  
_

 _"Can you keep a secret?" she slurred out_

 _"What?"_

 _"I think I like you,"  
_


	15. The One Where Misaki Got Drunk Again

**A/N:** Hello, everyone. I was supposed to be studying for my exam next week but ended up working on this chapter but I have no regrets lol. Anyway, thank you to everyone who continues to review and read my story, you guys motivate me to continue writing :)

Shout-out to **MikaMarguerite** for noticing that the name of the each chapters were based from FRIENDS. I was waiting for someone to point that out. Anyway, glad that youre loving the story so far.

* * *

 _ **-Takumi's POV-**_

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Igarashi," I greeted them as I entered the room.

Mrs. Igarashi was sitting next to her husband while Miya was preparing the older man for the surgery. Tora was also in the room, sitting on the couch opposite to the bed, watching our exchange silently. I acknowledged his presence and nodded my head at him.

"Good morning, Dr. Walker," she gave me a small smile. The sleepless nights, stressing and worrying about her husband has taken a toll on her and was evident on her face.

"Are you ready for your surgery?" I asked the older man who was already in an irritable mood, early in the morning.

"If I say no would that change anything," I smiled at his sarcastic remarks. It seemed like nothing but sarcasm comes out of his smart mouth.

Ignoring his comments, I went on and continued my reason for stopping by, "I am sure Miya have explained the procedure to you, what to expect and the recovery process. Do you have any other questions or concerns?"

"Everyone has been very accommodating, dear. I just hope that their wont be any complications and that my husband will be okay and healthy after," Mrs. Igarashi, calmly replied.

I nodded, fully understanding her concerns and worries, "I will do my best but for Mr. Igarashi to recover fully he needs to start listening to his doctors and change his lifestyle," the older man rolled his eyes at my remark and I could only shake my head in response. A doctor can only do so much.

I glanced back to Tora who hasn't spoken anything since I came in.

"Do you have any other questions for me, Tora?"

He locked eyes with me, "No. Just do your job properly,"

"Alright," I redirected my attention back to the couple, "The anesthesiologist will be here in a few minutes to get you all set up and I will see you in the operating room."

 **-xx-**

 _ **-Misaki's POV-**_

"Misaki, you have another delivery here," she pointed at the bouquet of roses sitting on top of the desk. I glanced at them in a daze.

"Thanks, satsuki," I weakly, responded.

"Who are they from?"

"Wow second delivery in one day," Yukimura noted as he passed by the station. He went around the desks to the drawers to put away the items he was carrying.

"Who's your suitor?" Satsuki slyly asked while typing away on her computer.

I gave her a faint smile. "Alright, I wont probe you too much. But I have a feeling who it's from," she enthusiastically remarked

I took out the greeting card glued on the wrapper. ' _Thinking of you -T.I'_. I took a deep sigh, the feeling of guilt silently gnawing at me once again. _Why was I feeling this way?_

"I don't think you know him," I replied which caught her attention, before she could ask another question Yukimura was already changing the subject.

"Are you coming with us tonight?"

I folded the card and slipped it in my front pocket before facing Yukimura, "I am not sure, I still have an early shift tomorrow."

"Just stay for a couple of hours," he urged

"I will think about it,"

"Hey, Takumi," Satsuki called out.

My head automatically snapped at the direction she was looking at.

"Good morning, Satsuki,"

"Misaki," he flashed me a smile.

I looked away to hide the flush that crept up on my face, "Morning," I said in a small voice.

"Flower deliveries, huh," he looked at the bouquet in front of me. My eyes widened in surprise, I immediately turned my back against the desk to cover the item.

"Um. Yeah," I uncomfortably replied.

"Someone is already marking his territory," I shot him a look.

"I thought I knew who it was from, seemed like I was wrong," Satsuki mused while giving Takumi a knowing look, "Do you know who they are from, Takumi?"

"I do," he smirked and passed his charts to Satsuki.

"Better start stepping up your game," she teased while Takumi chuckled. I lifted an eyebrow as I listened to their exchange in puzzlement.

"Anyway, how was the surgery today?" she asked, "I heard your patient was a handful,"

"It went well. Mr. Igarashi is back in his room and resting,"

"Is he going to be okay?" I suddenly asked

He looked at me and nodded, "Yeah he will be. His family is there with him,"

"Are you coming tonight, Dr. Walker?" Yukimura interrupted.

"Tonight?"

"Some of the nurses are going out tonight to celebrate Hinata's birthday. I think it's a perfect time to take a break and relax too, we've also invited the other doctors. My sister and Dr. Sakurai confirmed that they are coming. "

He darted his eyes at me, "Are you coming?"

"I am not sure yet,"

"I will try to catch up later if I can. Thanks for the invitation and I hope you guys enjoy yourselves. It's been a very hard few weeks."

"Thanks Dr. Walker," Yukimura said. He gave us a smile before walking away.

Once he left, I leaned back on my desk and let out a heavy sigh. _Why do I feel so conflicted?_

"Hard choice," Satsuki said out loud, I glanced back at her in surprise.

"Okay people, back to work," she gave me an innocent smile.

.

.

During my break, I went out and met with Tora. Despite the chilly weather, the sun was out and the streets were ever busy, a few patients were walking around the hospital trying to get some sunlight and some of the staffs were outside eating their lunch. The restaurants across from the hospital was also buzzing with people coming in and out to get their lunch on the go. Tora was sitting on one of the benches located on the west side of the building, facing the streets when I arrived.

"You got my flowers," he happily noted as I sat beside him.

"Here," I dropped them on his lap.

He looked at me in confusion, "You didn't like them?"

"Tora, you can't just deliver flowers to my work place like that,"

"Why not?"

I avoided his gaze, "Because- because I don't want my co-workers to stir up some rumors about me,"

"You are still not a good liar," he smiled, he reached for my hand and tugged me to face him, "I will apologize to you repeatedly if I have to. I will do everything to make up for our lost years. If you are worried about my dad, I know what I want now-" His face was fully of earnestly as he continued on with his confession and promises.

"Tora," I couldn't let him continue.

"I have learned from my mistake and I know I don't want to lose you again. Let's give this another chance," he looked on expectantly, while I remained silent.

"Let's not be impulsive, we were separated for more than three years. Many things have changed and-"

"I still love you and I know you still do,"

I stared into his golden pools, "You are still too arrogant and conceited," but I knew he was right. Despite all the uncertainty I was going through, the only one thing I was sure of was that my feelings for him never changed.

"And that is why you are still attracted to me," he smirked. I studied his face, the familiarity and the feeling of his touch were all too nostalgic.

"Loose the attitude," I retorted back

"Let's start slow. What are you doing this weekend?"

"I have work,"

"How about a quick date after your shift? I can pick you up after your shift," his smile was hopeful.

"Don't you have to take care of your dad?"

"Yes. Want to swing by and say hi,"

"Do you want your dad to have another heart attack?" he chuckled

"My mom likes you,"

"Yeah but not enough to like me for her son," my reply brought us back to the past.

I exhaled, "Forget I said that."

"Why are you so hesitant about all this? You are dodging my calls, you are returning these flowers and now you are avoiding me,"

I pulled my hand away from his, "No. it's just that I still have many things to think about. This is not easy Tora," I closed my eyes and leaned on my hands, "You can't just expect everything to come back to normal, it doesn't work like that,"

"I know that and I am willing to wait until you are ready. Like I said we can start slow,"

I anxiously fidgeted on my seat, this was supposed to be an easy decision.

"Is it because of Takumi?"

"What?" my eyebrows furrowed, "What about him?"

"Do you have feelings for him?"

 **-xx-**

"Shot shot shot," they chanted as I gulped down my fourth glass of tequila shot.

"Woohoo!" The other nurses cheered

"Damn misa, didn't expect you had it in you," Hinata patted me on the shoulder

Most of the nurses that showed up were the first years except for a few veterans including Satsuki and a few doctors including Satsuki's older sister, Nagisa and Kuuga. After my tequila shots, I could already feel myself loosening up and feeling relaxed. Alcohol always had these effects on me.

"Let's take more shots!" I yelled out

"You are going to regret this tomorrow," Shizuko noted as she took a sip from her cocktail drink

"You are only having that?" I shook my head, "Come on. Take some shots with me,"

"Id rather stay sober so there's someone to take care of you" she replied, I staggered up my seat, "Where are you going?

"Bathroom," I whispered to her ears.

With much difficulty, I reached the hall and went inside the bathroom. I stared at my reflection before taking out my phone. I dialed a number and waited for the other person to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hiiii," I cheerfully greeted.

"Misaki," he sounded surprise.

"Hey pervert, where are you?"

"Are you drunk?"

"No," I giggled, "Yes. You should have came. It is so much fun."

"Yeah, it seems like you are having fun,"

"It would have been more fun if you were here," I walked to the corner of the bathroom and sat down to steady myself. My surrounding was spinning and I was feeling lightheaded.

"You want me around?"

"Yeah. Dummy," with the amount of alcohol in my system, I was already blurting out every thought in my head.

He chuckled, "Aren't you too honest tonight,"

"Are you just in your boring apartment, reading a boring book?"

"Nope. I just finished showering and I'm sitting naked on my bed,"

"Ha. Why don't you call the girl you kicked out before to keep you company tonight?" I started laughing.

"How about you keep me company tonight?"

I rolled my eyes, "In your dreams,"

"Shit," I felt my stomach turning. I quickly got up from the floor and headed to the toilet.

"Are you okay?"

"ugh," I took a few heavy breaths before replying, "I just puked my guts out but I will be fine," I giggled.

"Okay. Bye," the call ended.

I looked at my phone in disbelief, _how dare that guy hang up on me?_

I returned to my seat after cleaning up myself and took a sip of my cola and rum while watching the other nurses take turn singing the karaoke. I was already slumped in the corner of the sofa, in a stupor. Without much of a protest, Shizuko replaced my drink with water after noticing my state.

The room erupted into a cheer once the birthday boy stepped forward to sing a song for everyone who came out to celebrate with him. He also had too many to drink as he slightly became emotional from his speech.

"Wohoo. Go Hinata," I cheered and the others followed

"This one is for all of you. I love all of you guys," he yelled.

"Takumi!" I heard the commotion near the entrance of the room, I looked over where the sound of the voices was coming.

There he was standing by the door wearing jeans and a hoodie, his hair was still wet and he seemed out of breath, "I thought you weren't coming?" I heard his friend asked

"Changed my mind," he smiled as his eyes scanned the room. His emerald orbs spotted mine, a small smirk tugged on his lips and I felt myself melt.

"Dr. Walker," Hinata said as he recognized him. "Come here and have a drink,"

The night slowly came to an end and only a few people were left. The other nurses with an early shift decided to bail early, without thinking about the consequences, I got myself wasted and unable to move.

"Let's get you home, Misaki," Shizuko took my bag.

"I will drive you guys home," Takumi offered

"It's okay, Dr walker," she helped me up, "Misaki can you tell me where your apartment is? Misaki,"

I smiled at her and shook my head, "Shizuko, I hate men," Shizuko looked around in embarrassment, "Why are they so stupid? Seriously they leave you and then come back like nothing happened, fuck all of men,"

"Misaki,"

"We live in the same building Shizuko," Takumi said.

"Fck you, Takumi," we were starting to get the others attention.

"Misaki!" Shizuko warned me.

"It's alright,"

.

.

.

 _ **-Takumi's POV-**_

I carried her on my back and made our way into the building. After getting inside, I gently put her down on her feet and waited for one of the elevators. She unsteadily sat down on the tiled floor and unzipped her sweater as she got comfortable on her seat.

I sighed and looked away, "You do crazy things when you get drunk,"

One of the elevators opened and I looked down on her, "Let's get you back to your apartment," I offered my hand to her while she stared at me with an unreadable expression

"I know I'm handsome. No need to blatantly stare at my face,"

"You are conceited and arrogant too." She said out loud and leaned back on the wall to close her eyes

"Misaki you still have work tomorrow."

"What is wrong with me, honestly? I might be a masochist. I think I like to make myself suffer," she opened her eyes and stared into the space.

I crouched down so we were eye level, "I like you just the way you are."

She glared at me, "This is why you get on my nerves. You say things like that and I feel all fuzzy and flustered while you just throw those words to me casually,"

I smirked not expecting that she would be honest about her feelings, "I am just saying the truth."

she pointed an accusing finger at me, "I know you like playing this kind of games. Dr. Takumi Walker. I know exactly the likes of you,"

"Like I told you. I can prove you wrong," I inched closer to her while she remained calm. She would usually freak out and get flustered but with the alcohol in her system she was confident and bold. She gripped my shirt and pulled me closer while staring directly into my eyes, her sudden move caught me off guard and I felt myself getting flustered this time.

"You seriously get in my nerves," I smiled and shook my head.

I pulled away to check the time, despite liking her bold actions I wouldn't take advantage of her just because she was drunk, "It's getting late. Let's get you in your bed,"

"Can you stand up?" She shook her head

"You can't drink like this again; you are so vulnerable." I zipped up her sweater and I pulled her up.

"You are so wasted, I don't think you can wake up tomorrow. I will borrow your key so I can wake you up."

I slung her bag over my shoulder and held her steady by the waist.

Her hands moved to ruffle my hair.

"You get on my nerves,"

I smiled, "I know you already said that,"

She put her arms around my neck and leaned on my chest. With her inadvertent actions, I felt my heartbeat speed up.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"What?" I asked, cautiously.

"I think I like you," she whispered.

I heard another sound of elevator door opening up behind me while I remained on my feet, unable to move. _Did I just hear her, right?_

My hold around her tightened as her words clung inside my head and repeated like a broken record.

 _What the hell was I supposed to do now?_

* * *

 _ **Preview:**  
_

 **-Misaki's POV-**

 _"What's this coffee for?"_

 _"You have a hang over," he replied_

 _"Thanks," I shrugged and returned to my task._

 _"You don't remember anything huh?" he chuckled, "Well this should be fun"_

 _"What?"_

 _His smirk sent shiver down my spine, "What did I do?" I asked nervously_

 _He walked away and I followed him_

 _"Hey!"_

 _"Yes Ms. Ayuzawa," he gave me an innocent smile._

 _His behavior was making my blood boil. I looked around before grabbing his hand and pulled him towards the room at the the end of the hall_

 _"You son of a bitch, tell me right now or I am gonna kill you."_

 _The smirk on his face didn't disappear as he grabbed me by the neck and pull me towards him._

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. Until next time :)


	16. The One Where Misaki Went on a Date

**A/N:** Its been a long time, friends. I finally have some time off from school and will try my best to post more chapters before school begins again. I think my next update will be after Christmas so I want to wish everyone an advance Merry Christmas and I hope everyone will have a wonderful Holiday :)

 **Anime Queen:** AWW I am glad that you like plot of the story and to answer your question, yes I got the names mixed up. It was supposed to be Kuuga checking on the patient's head trauma, there's no other Tora in the hospital. Thank you for pointing out my mistake and I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

* * *

 ** _Chapter 16: The One Where Misaki Went on a Date_**

* * *

 ** _-Takumi's POV-_**

Pushing the door open to the conference room, I was greeted with a couple of my colleagues and a few other staff chattering away about their cases and other trivial things. I bid a few pleasantries as I passed by a couple of the staff and took my seat next to Kuuga and Satsuki at the end of the table.

Kuuga turned his head to me, "What do you think this is about?" he inquired while stretching his limbs and yawning.

I shrugged my shoulder, "I don't know," it was a surprise to everybody when the chief sent a memo about a urgent meeting in the morning.

He let out another yawn, "You seem tired, were you on call?" I asked.

He snapped out of his daze and grinned at me, "Nika kept me up all night."

"When are you going to change?" I sighed

Kuuga noticed my reaction and snickered, "Don't act like you didn't live like this before. I taught you how to live this way,"

I smirked and shook my head.

"Stop being a bad influence," Satsuki interjected, "He is going after a very nice girl,"

"You are still hung up on that nurse chick?" he asked in amusement. He leaned back on his chair and gave me a mocking smile. I already knew what was going on in his head.

"She has a name," Satsuki reminded him.

Kuuga glanced at her, "You are still hung up on that Misaki, chick?" he tried once again and Satsuki rolled her eyes

"Just mind your own business," I shot him a look reminding him about his previous effort on helping with my personal life.

"You haven't been out there in a while, you need a help from an experienced man,"

"You only think with your little head when you are outside of the hospital, I don't think you can consider yourself as a man with wisdom," Satsuki responded

Nagisa who was sitting next to her and a few other doctors sitting nearby chuckled in response. I hid the smile forming on my lips.

"I use this little head in this hospital too," he had a conceited smile on his face.

"What is wrong with you?" Kanou asked.

"Lay off my nurses or else I am going to cut off that thing youre trying to pass off as a penis,"

He put his hands up in surrender, "Fine, fine,"

"What about him?," he pointed at me, "He's after one of your nurses,"

"He doesn't have a bad intention unlike you,"

"Why am I always the bad guy?" he exhaled.

The banter between them was cut short when Dr. Fuiji entered the room, "Good morning, everyone," the chief greeted as he made his way to the front.

"Good morning, chief"

"As you all know, we have had a few complaints regarding the lack of staffs in all departments over the last few months,"

"A few?" Satsuki shook her head in displeasure, she has been very vocal about her dissatisfaction with the lack of action regarding the shortage of staff over the last months.

"I brought up the problem to the executives and they approved an increase of budget for each department, especially in our Nurse's department where we seem to be very low with staff,"

"Finally," Satsuki dramatically sighed and she garnered a few laughs.

The chief glanced at her but chose to let it pass, he cleared his throat and continued, "We will start hiring staffs and recruiting a few doctors over the next few months. You can expect that the schedules will be more regular and less over time for everyone who's been putting extra hours lately,"

Most of my colleagues approves of the new incoming set up and changes and voiced out their satisfactions

"I am also happy to tell you that we are expecting a big grant by the end of this month to upgrade our machines and equipment's curtesy of one of our head executives, Mr. Igarashi who had a successful operation, thanks to Dr. Walker."

The room erupted into cheers and I gave them a small nod.

"That is all for this meeting, thanks for your time,"

Everybody began dispersing after while the chief was pulled aside by Dr. Yoshi.

"That was very generous of Mr. Igarashi," Nagisa noted as we made our way out of the room

Satsuki nodded, "They must have taken a liking towards you," she smiled at me

"I don't think it was Mr. Igarashi's decision," I replied

 **-xxx-**

 _ **-Misaki's POV-**_

I closed my eyes in frustration and brought my fingers to my temples and massaged it in circular motion in attempt to alleviate the pain drilling into my skull. I let out another groan and slumped back on my seat.

"Are you okay?" Shizuko glanced away from the computer.

"My head hurts."

"I told you to take it easy last night," she replied and gave me a nonchalant look, knowing full well the consequences of my actions from last night. I knew she was waiting for me to say that I should have listened to her but I was too stubborn to admit my mistakes and ended up giving her a scowl.

"Did you get home okay last night?"

"I don't remember how I got home, I just woke up on my bed with a killer headache," I slightly cringed on my seat remembering the agony I felt after spending an hour next to the toilet puking my guts out before heading out for work.

"Dr. Walker dropped you back to your apartment,"

"What?" I jumped on my seat, "I don't remember anything," my eyes widened in shock, I felt a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Did I do anything stupid last night?" my grip on my head tightened as I tried hard to remember the events from last night. Everything was too vague and hazy to recall anything.

"You were out of it last night, we couldn't even get you out of the restaurant without him carrying you out," she fixed her glasses in place and glared at me, "and you made a scene in front of everyone,"

"This is so embarrassing," I covered my face with my hands, "I am so sorry, Shizuko," I dropped my head to the table in shame.

"Forget it. Just don't ever get drunk again,"

"Anyway, what's your relationship with him now?" I moved my head to face her

"What?"

"Dr. Walker actually went out of his way just to take care of you last night. I have never seen him act like this to anyone before,"

I stiffened on my position as I recollected the phone call I made and him showing up at the party.

"Are you just friends with him?" she asked.

"I consider him as a friend,"

"Nothing more?"

I straightened on my seat and stared back at her at lost for words. _How do I even answer that, when I couldn't even understand my own feelings?_

"I- I don't know,"

"Misaki," Satsuki called out.

I snapped out of my trance and glanced back to her.

"Can you bring this to Room 350? He needs a new set of hospital gowns,"

I looked at Shizuko before standing up. Her question brought back and opened unresolved thoughts that I wasn't ready to tackle.

I knocked on the patient's door before letting myself in, he was soundly sleeping and I left the clothes next to his bed. Still deep in thought I walked back to the station.

"Good morning," the all too familiar voice greeted me. I paused on my spot and glanced back. He had a big smile on his face while he walked up to me with a cup of coffee in one hand.

"Morning," I mumbled

He passed me the coffee, "What is this for?" I arched my brows.

"For your hangover, take it with an aspirin," his smile never left his face and I eyed him carefully, his action wasn't sitting right to me

"What do you want?"

He chuckled at my inquisition, "Nothing, I am just giving you coffee. Can you stop thinking that I have another agenda?"

I let it pass and changed the subject, "I didn't know you dropped me home last night,"

"You don't remember anything?"

"No."

"Yeah. I dropped you back to your apartment and your room mate took care of you after,"

I sighed in relief, "Thank you and sorry for the trouble,"

"No worries, it was very entertaining to see you drunk,"

My eyebrows knitted together and I felt the sinking feeling once again, "What happened? Did I do something stupid?"

"Not telling," he gave me a smug smile

I was becoming more agitated, "Tell me or else," I hissed.

"or else what?" he slightly moved his face closer to mine and my face turned scarlet. Realizing that we were standing in the hallway I kicked him on the shin and looked around to see if we had any audience.

He straightened his composure and hid the smile forming on his face, "Okay, I will just go now,"

"Wait," I whispered, "Come back here," I called out in a low voice and he continued to ignore me.

He stopped on his tracks and turned around, "Yes, Ms. Ayuzawa," he taunted me even more.

"You son of a bitch, tell me right now,"

I looked around if there was anyone around before taking his hand and dragged him into the room at the end of the hall. After seeing that it wasn't occupied I pulled him inside and closed the door behind us. I pushed him against the door while his emerald eyes were staring back at me in astoundment.

Slowly his lips broke into a wide smirk, "You never fail to surprise me,"

Ignoring his remark, I scowled at him, "Something happened last night and you are going to tell me what I did,"

"I don't think this is the right way to talk things through," he smiled

I looked at our position and stepped away, "NO. You are going to tell me right now,"

"Okay," he nodded his head, "What am I to you, Misaki?"

"huh?" I took another step back in surprise.

"What do you really feel about me?" his expression became serious as he kept his eyes on me.

"What? I don't have time for this," I looked away, the last person I would want to talk to about my feelings was with him. My hand reached for the door knob and he stopped my arm.

"You are not going to run away from this,"

He let go of my arm and stepped forward without breaking his sight from mine, his emerald-green pools gazed at me with intensity that left me feeling anxious and tense but the next three words that left his lips had me staggering in shock.

"I like you,"

"W-What?" I breathed out, I could feel the loud thump on my chest and it almost left me breathless.

"Don't make me repeat myself,"

"I know you like me too," he gave his infamous smirk and the queasy feeling in my stomach became too overwhelming, "You confessed to me last night,"

"Oh my god," just like that the events from last night came rushing back to me.

"Now I am going to ask you, what do you want to do about this?" he leaned closer to me, his eyes searching for answers.

Time seemed to slow down as I brought my hand to his face and slowly inched closer, silently confirming and weighing my feelings for him. I could feel the erratic beat of my heart and my lips brushed against his. It was quick touch that reverberated my whole senses and took my breath away. He was caught off guard by my brash move and his eyes slightly widened in surprise.

"Wrong move, Misaki," he shook his head and smirked

He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him and crashed his lips to mine. It was my turn to be taken a back as his lips brushed against mine, I closed my eyes and melted in his arms. Gradually, I responded back with the same eagerness. It was feathery touches at first but he slowly deepened the kiss and graced his tongue on my lower lip asking permission to taste me. My hands left my side and moved to caress his face and hair pulling him closer to me. His hand on their own also moved along my body and it sent shiver down my spine making me crave for more.

A door creaking open and wheels being dragged across the floor interrupted us, with heavy breaths I pulled away and looked back to where the noise was coming from. An older patient was pushing his IV stand from the bathroom to his bed. He looked up at the same time.

"Are you two giving me a sponge bath?"

I pushed him away and straightened my shirt, "I will send in one of the nurses for you, Sir."

With face lit up with embarrassment, I immediately left the room and he followed me out while laughing very hard.

I turned around and glared at him once we were away from that sinful room, "What? It was funny," he replied.

My eyes darted to his hair, noticing its disheveled form I reached out and fixed it in place.

A small grin formed on his lips, "I can meet you in my office in 30 minutes, lets continue where we left off,"

My face became crimson and I walked away from him, "Pervert,"

"I am not the only one," he yelled out.

 **-xxx-**

"I will see you in a few minutes," I hang up and stuffed my phone back to my bag before looking at the mirror to straighten my dress.

"Looking good, Misaki," Yukimura said as he closed his locker, "Going on a date?"

"Yes," was my short reply.

"Do I know who this guy is?" I shied away and he chuckled in response

"Alright, alright. I am not going to be too nosy. Have fun,"

The elevator stopped on the first floor and he was the first one I spotted from the crowd. He was standing tall with a suit, looking dashing as usual. His lips broke into a wide grin as his eyes landed on mine, I made my way towards him.

"You look great," he bent forward and I tensed up.

He paused and smiled at me in understanding, "Don't worry, I am not in a rush. Like I said we will take this slow," I forced a smile and he leaned closer to give me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thanks," I mumbled

"Let's go?"

I nodded my head and he offered me his hand, my gaze moved to his expectant face and with a slight reluctance I decided to take it. Hand in hand we headed to the lobby when my eyes casted on a passerby. Emerald-green pools watched us from afar.

"Takumi," I muttered.

He turned around and walked away.

"Misaki," Tora tightened his hold on my hand.

I fought the urge to run after him. Nobody has ever drove me this crazy then leave me breathless and senseless a second later, I fear that these feelings are too strong to be kept under control. With Tora, its easy, certain and uncomplicated, but why is choosing my first love bringing me this much despair and self-doubt….

* * *

 _ **Preview:**_

 _"How can I throw five years for a man that's only been in my life for short time?"  
_

 _"Time is not a measure of love," she responded, "You can be with someone for more than two years and barely feel anything and you can be with someone and fall in love in just a short amount of time."_

 _"With him, its simple, its easy,"_

 _"You cant expect to love the same way you did before,"_

 _"What am I going to do, Sakura?"_

 _"I cant make this decision for you. Only you know what is the right thing to do."  
_

* * *

 **A/N:** *hides behind a wall* Kind of excited to read what you think of this chapter. Questions, comments, suggestions? Leave them in a review :))


	17. The One With All the Confusion

**A/N:** Happy new year everyone, I hope everybody had a great holidays. Anyway, it was so fun to read the reviews from last chapter. I had a few mixed reactions and a few were pretty confused about the scene at the end, this chapter will be following the scene from the previous chapter and I hope it will give you a better understanding of the reason why it happened. I hope you guys will like it :))

* * *

 **Chapter 16: The One With all The Confusion**

* * *

 _ **-Misaki's POV-**_

"I am glad you finally agreed to see me again," he said as we took our seats in one of the private room he had reserved for us. It was quite surprising that he was able to make a reservation at a exclusive restaurant knowing that it was a last-minute plan. But he was Tora Igarashi and he could make anything happen.

A waitress assisted us right away and brought us the menu and a bottle of champagne Tora picked himself.

I snapped out of my daze and gazed back at him, "Yeah, something came up," I replied in a small voice, it was evident that I was a tad bit distracted the entire ride to the restaurant. I still couldn't shake off the guilt in the pit of my stomach. Seeing Takumi's grim expression and stern eyes staring right into mine, I don't know how I was going to face him again.

"What can I get you two tonight?" Magi, our waitress asked as she returned to our table.

"I will get the filet Mignon, medium rare and," he quickly scanned the menu, "she will get the turkey sandwich with a side salad," he replied and closed the book.

"I am not getting that," I interrupted.

He paused and glanced up, "Sorry, old habit,"

"That's okay. I will get the shrimp pasta, please," I handed her the menu and she walked away.

"I didn't notice how much things have changed," he mused out loud. I slightly nodded my head at his observation, it was the small little things we were accustomed to before but because of our time apart, it was now a proof of how wide the distance was between us and how much we have grown apart.

"What made you change your mind?" he asked regarding my sudden interest in seeing him again. For the last few weeks I have done nothing but avoid his calls and invitation but after what happened earlier I realized I must face Tora and resolve the problem between us, I couldn't continue being unfair with him. The image of him crossed my mind again. _But wasn't I also being unfair with Takumi?_

I pushed aside the thought and focused my attention to him, "I want to catch up and see how things will go from here," I replied

His face lit up with excitement after hearing my reason, "I am glad to hear that. I am not going to lie I was pretty surprised to get a call from you and asking me out to go on a dinner date,"

"Never did I thought that Misaki Ayuzawa would initiate the first move," he slightly chuckled at the irony.

"Like you said many things have changed," I took a sip from my wine and forced a smile.

"I can tell," the small desolation in his tone didn't go unnoticed, he gave me a smile but I could tell he had more thoughts he couldn't convey.

"You must have been very busy with work lately," I tried to fill the sudden silence between us.

"Yeah. I am handling my dad's share of work these last few weeks."

"Did I catch you on a busy night?"

"No. No, I really need this night," he pulled out his hand and reached for mine gently resting on top of the table, "Besides, no matter how busy I am, I would spare time just to be with you,"

His gold orbs held my gaze and I could tell his sincerity.

"Sorry for the wait," Magi intruded and placed down the plates in front of us, "Enjoy your food and let me know if you need anything else,"

I broke my gaze away from him and looked at the dish in front of me, "Thank you,"

He noticed my slight discomfort and changed the subject, "How's Sakura and the others?" he asked while he began cutting his food.

"Sakura is temporarily working at a call center while Aoi is pretty busy with his business back home. He is planning on visiting us in a few weeks, though. I am pretty excited about that," a genuine smile finally graced my lips.

He nodded his head, "Do they know about what happened with us?"

"I think I have mentioned it to them," I tried to hide the grin forming on my lips.

He wiped the corner of his mouth and sneered, "and that means you have told them every single detail of our meetings and everything I did,"

"Pretty much,"

"Do they still hate me?"

"Aoi's exact words were," I cleared my throat and tried to imitate his voice, " _Don't you ever trust that fucking bastard again and don't you even think of forgiving his lying ass_ ,"

I began laughing and he followed suit, "Never expected anything less from him," he replied

"Don't worry they'll come around,"

"That might take a while. It even took a lot of time for them to accept me as your boyfriend, imagine forgiving me after what I did,"

"Well in their defense, you were a big jerk back in high school," I couldn't hide the smile on my face any longer, it was funny to reminisce the good old days. Back when everything seemed simpler and less complicated.

"I know and you made sure to show your hatred towards me all throughout our first year," he retorted back.

"You didn't make it easy for me either, with your stupid pranks and mistreatment," I shook my head, "Why did you hated me so much before?" I asked in curiosity

"I was a spoiled brat with issues and became attracted to a girl that I knew my parents would never approve of,"

I shook my head in amusement after hearing his answer. I knew there was some truth to it but I didn't expect him to be very honest about it. Throughout the entirety of our relationship we tried our best to avoid this topic, pretend that nothing could come in between us even though we both knew everybody was against our relationship.

"Anyway, when did you start liking me?" I pried, curiosity getting the better of me.

He dropped his fork and reached for his glass, "When was it?" he was in a deep thought for a while, he took a sip of his wine before responding, "It was right when you walked into our classroom on your first day, I think that was when I began liking you,"

"That early?" I asked in surprise, "What did you like about me?"

"You were simple and you knew how to carry yourself. When you told me off on your first day I knew right away that you were different from all the girls I have met," he grinned, "so when did you start liking me?"

I leaned back on my chair and tilted my head to carefully watch him, "When I realized there was more to you than meets the eye. I seriously hated that stupid façade you had on,"

"You saw right through me and that's why I loved you," he took a big sigh, his gaze not breaking away from mine.

"I still can't forget your cheesy confession," I remembered and a playful smile formed on the corner of my lips. We were both having fun taking a trip down memory lane.

"I had to do it in front of the entire school," he responded

"and why was that?"

"To make sure that everyone knew you were mine," he moved his brows suggestively and leaned closer, "Do you remember our first kiss?"

 _How could I forget? "_ It was in the rain after we had our first fight as a couple," I replied, remembering every single detail of that event.

"We fought so much before," he laughed and I agreed silently. It was unbelievable how much we fought over the most trivial things.

"You were very immature and I was very hotheaded,"

"Yes, very hotheaded and violent," I scoffed at his comment, "Also, I didn't know how to express my feelings when I was jealous,"

"I just let you be when you are having your mood swings, I didn't know how to deal with them. You act like your fine one moment and you close off a second later,"

"Yes and you didn't know how to be romantic," I snapped my head in his direction and gave him an incredulous look, "I had to teach you everything," he chuckled once again.

"You weren't very patient either," I pursed my lips together.

"I think anyone will lose it when your girlfriend hides and avoids you for a week after their first kiss," he smirked.

My face slightly reddened in embarrassment, "That was all knew to me, okay?" he snickered at the recollection, "It was so embarrassing for me and I didn't know how to face you,"

"But we lasted for five years,"

"We learned how to deal with each other after a while," I sad smile formed on my lips. It was nice to relive these old moments and memories but we both knew everything has changed and so did the both of us….

-xxx-

I returned to my apartment and walked straight to the living room to put down my bag. The bedroom across me creaked open and my roommate took a peak out

"Don't you have work later today? Its already past 2 am," she groggily asked and she yawned out

"I just came back from dinner with Tora,"

She walked to the couch and flopped right beside me, "Tora? You are going to give it a try with him?"

"We went to talk things through. We are taking it slow for now,"

"Why do you look down in the dumps?" she noted as she got a better look of me.

"I feel miserable," I replied

She wrapped the robe closer to her body and furrowed her brows, "What's happening?"

I breathed out, "I like him too,"

"Takumi?

"Yes," I closed my eyes, feeling more conflicted than before.

"I was right," she had a satisfied beam on her face and I could only shake my head in response. It wasn't the time for her to tell me off that she was right after all.

Her face suddenly scrunched up in confusion, "Why are you going with Tora then?"

"I cant throw away five years for a man that I've only known for a while,"

"Time is not a measure of love, Misaki. You can be with someone for five years and never feel a single thing and be with someone for less than a year and become madly in love,"

A chortled laugh escaped from my throat, I almost forgot that it was Sakura I was talking to. A romantic and idealist at heart, "Sakura, I am serious,"

She rolled her eyes at me, "I am serious too."

"You don't understand. Its simple with Tora, I know I can trust him again,"

"You can't compare what you had with Tora with what you have with Takumi. You are not going to love the same way each time, Misaki. What you had with Tora was different, he was your first love, you experienced all your firsts with him. But you grew up and became a different person after you got separated, you learned many things all by yourself and I think you also learned to love someone else,"

I looked up and stared at her. Her words suddenly making sense and slowly hitting me like a ton of brick. _Why couldn't I realize my own feelings?_

-xxx-

 **The Next Day**

I helped her lay down on her bed and checked her vitals before jolting it down on her charts.

"Are you still experiencing any pains?"

"It's just a mild pain in my chest area,"

"From 1 to 10, how would you rate the pain?"

"I would say 4 to 5. Its bearable now compared to the pain I had an hour ago," the patient replied while breathing slowly to ease the discomfort.

I nodded my head and added the notes on her chart

"Good morning, Mrs. Hayame," I slightly jumped on my feet after hearing his voice, I looked up and he was making his way towards the bed. His pools met mine and I immediately looked away.

"I am Dr. Walker and I will be doing your consultation," I could see him in my peripheral vision checking her scans.

"How long have you been having these chest pains?" he put his stethoscope on her chest.

"Its only been a few weeks. I told her that I was having sharp pains and it makes it hard to breathe sometimes,"

He glanced at me and lightly nodded his head. The humor and glint in his eyes were gone and he had a stoic front, it made him almost a different person. His facade cleverly hid his true feelings and I could feel a sudden twinge in my chest.

"Get her another chest scan and an echo cardiogram," his tone was unyielding as he passed the charts back to me, his cold stares lacked familiarity. After the consultation he walked out right away.

I returned to my seat and began my patient's workup. I couldn't blame him for acting indifferent towards me, he has all the rights to be mad and furious at me.

"Hi," a familiar voice greeted me.

I looked up and he was leaning on my desk with a mischievous smile, "What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise, I looked around us and the other nurses were beginning to recognize him.

"Mr. Igarashi," Miya who was passing by, stopped on her tracks and walked up to him. "Do you need anything?"

"No. I just came to see her," Miya glanced at me and arched her perfectly shaped brows. "What time is your break?" he asked

I checked the watch before facing him again, "In 30 minutes,"

Miya frowned at me while making her way around the desks.

"Misaki, go ahead and take an early break," Satsuki said, she was standing nearby and organizing the charts.

"Okay, thanks." I saved my work on the computer before heading out with him.

"Do you need anything from me?" I asked him

"I just want to see you,"

I gazed at his face and I could only sigh in despair, "This is perfect, I actually need to talk to you,"

"What is it about?"

I took a deep breath, "Can we go talk somewhere private?"

"How about a dinner tonight?" we walked towards the elevator.

"Sure," my brows suddenly furrowed after noticing that he was pressing the top floor in the elevator, "Where are we going?"

The grin on his face widened, "We are going to visit my parents,"

"WHAT?" my eyes widened in alarm.

The door slid open and I found myself standing in front of the VIP room, he slightly opened the door and walked in.

"Hi mom. I want you to meet someone,"

"Who is it, dear?"

He walked inside and opened the door wide enough for me to enter

"Misaki!" she exclaimed in surprise, "How are you?" she walked up to us and pulled me into a tight hug. I released a tensed sigh as I gently hugged her back

"I am quiet alright, Mrs. Igarashi," I replied with a shaky breath

"You can still call me Beatrice," she gave me a comforting smile, gesturing me to take a seat, "You are working here?"

"Yes. I moved here after graduating from college,"

"What a small world it is," the older Igarashi mused out loud as he eyed me carefully.

"Good afternoon, Sir," I offered a small greeting. He hasn't changed much since the last time I saw him, he still had his terrifying demeanor that could scare anyone off.

"Are you two back together?" Beatrice asked, excitedly.

"Mom," he whispered to her.

"I am just asking."

"I am not against you two getting back together. Its time for Tora to settle down and start his own family, I am not getting any younger and he needs to be with a decent woman," his father said

A smiled at his comment and I slightly shook my head in disbelief. It was funny how life works sometimes. Tora's father tried everything to separate us before and now that our situation was different, everything was lining up and agreeing for us to be together. I would have done anything to get his parents approval before.

I turned around to face him, "Tora, I need to talk to you," I couldn't postpone what I had in mind, any longer.

"Right now?" he arched his brows

"It was nice seeing you again Mrs. Igarashi and I wish you a healthy recovery, Mr. Igarashi," I bid my goodbye and hurriedly walked out.

"Are you okay?" he immediately caught after me.

"I can't do this to you, Tora,"

"What do you mean?" his expression hardened.

"I have feelings for someone else.."

* * *

 ** _Preview_ :**

 _"Where are you going?" I followed him  
_

 _"I am going out,"_

 _"Let me explain first. It wasnt what you think,"_

 _"You don't owe me an explanation, Misaki,"_

 _"Takumi," I tried to stop him once again.  
_

 _"Just go back to him, Misaki. I will be fine," he forced a smile_


	18. The One With the Misunderstandings

**Chapter 18: The One with the Misunderstandings**

* * *

 **(Takumi's POV)**

The smell of smoke infused with the aroma of beer and ale reeked the entire room and overpowered my senses after stepping inside. I looked around the crowded room and spotted Kuuga waving me over.

"Over here," Kuuga yelled over the loud chattering.

"How does it feel like to be back?" he asked.

I sat on the stool next to his, "I am not a big fan of this place," I sighed and signalled at the bartender.

"We used to have so much fun before," he reminisced

"You had fun," I replied

"Come on, you also had some good times,"

I disregarded his comment and downed the scotch in my glass, "Another one," I gestured at the bartender once again.

He glanced at my direction and furrowed his brows, "What's wrong with you?" he asked

"It's nothing,"

"The last time I saw you like this was when Sa-"

I scowled at the thought of her, "Don't bring up her name again," I quickly cut him off.

"Alright. Someone's a bit touchy," he muttered

"I am not in the mood to relive the past," I gulped down the next drink and groaned.

"Okay lets get you drunk first," he called over the bartender and got a bottle of scotch. We swigged the bottle in a few gulps and stayed in silence after.

"Is it about Misaki?" he inquired after a few minutes

I glanced at him and took a heavy sigh, taking another sip from my drink that only sent bitter burns down my throat.

"Her ex came back," I replied

"It didn't go well?"

"Yup," I shook my head, "She still loves him," saying the harsh fact out loud only made me feel worse.

"Sorry bro,"

"I can't compete with him and I can't get completely mad at her for choosing what she feels is right for her,"

"Wow," he was speechless, "You really must like her, huh.

"Yeah. I didn't realize how much I have fallen until its too late," despite feeling angry, I couldn't get myself to truly despise her because I know it wasn't an easy decision

"I feel like shit for acting so immature," the thoughts of the actions I have been doing over the last two weeks only made me shake my head in regret. Avoiding her and acting detached was a tactless move and only made me feel guilty.

"Its alright. This is the first time you invested yourself to someone after her," after being left in the altar, I made sure to never be emotionally attached to anyone. It was hard to trust someone again after the person you thought you would spend the rest of your life with, ran away without any explanation. But life works in a funny way sometimes, just when you think that maybe things could be normal again, it punches you down on the ground and make you realize that it never goes the way you want it to.

"I think its better to stay away from her for now," Kuuga suggested

"That's what I have been doing and it feels shitty,"

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," I gulped down another drink and leaned my head on my hands, "I don't know how I am going to avoid her. I thought that I could make it work with her," I small smile formed on my lips, "I was ready to work through my stupid fear of commitment and leap at the chance to be with her because I know she is worth it," I closed my eyes in frustration, I could feel myself getting a bit drowsy.

"Dude," he shook his head at me in disbelief, "you are drunk,"

I glanced at the bottles we have finished and smiled, "Yeah I must be,"

He took a heavy breath and brought his hand to pat me on the back, "If she is really meant for you it will work out at the end,"

I glanced at him and scrunched my forehead, "Dude, you are drunk,"

He rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Lets go home. We are both drunk."

 **-xx-  
**

 **(Next Day)**

The ringing of my beeper made me glance away from my computer to check the pager's number; '911' was flashing on the screen. I dashed out of my office and jogged to the first floor where the ER was located. I lifted a brow at the sight of the other doctors rushing ahead of me to the ER. Several staff were also called in and I spotted Misaki alongside the other nurses with the expectant crowd.

"We have a multiple car crash at Route 87. We need all available units in the ER, stat" Dr. Higarashi, the trauma surgeon yelled out as the first patient was rolled in with one paramedic pumping air into his mouth and the other paramedic stating his condition.

"Male. Thirty years old. Two broken legs and a possible concussion," the younger paramedic stated.

"Give him 40 mcg of fentanyl, get him a CT scan and x-rays for any broken bones," Dr. Higarashi said as they transferred him to the bed.

" -six years old. Unconscious, trauma to the head, broken neck and multiple other broken bones. He took the most hit, flew right out of the window," A couple doctors surrounded him and quickly assessed him. The paramedics were quick on their feet and secured his neck with a neck brace to prevent further injuries.

"His heart is beating too fast. Give him a dose of Verapamil and morphine to reduce his pain," I said after checking his heart beat. Before we could administer any drugs in his IV, he suddenly went flat line.

Kanou tilted the man's head "Something's blocking his airway, we need to intubate him," the nurse passed him a tracheal tube.

"He has few broken ribs possibly puncturing his lungs and other organs. We need to open him up. Page Dr. Sakurai, we need to close the bleeding in his head," I instructed to the nurse next to me, Shizuko nodded and hurriedly ran off.

"We have to operate on him now," Dr. Higarashi said, "Control the situation here, Dr. Soutaro and Dr. Walker. There will be more patients coming in,"

"Yes, Sir,"

"Where is my daughter?" a hysterical woman was crying her eyes out while being transferred to the next bed, "Female, 45 years old. Dislocated left shoulder, broken arm," I could hear the paramedic stating her condition.

"We will find your daughter but we have to take care of you first," Misaki consoled the aggravated mother.

"I need to find my daughter,"

"Dr. Walker, I need a consult here," she called out to me. I glanced at her while her eyes were fixated on cleaning the patient's wounds.

I walked next to her and she stepped aside as I assessed the patient, "There's no sign of internal bleeding, get her a CT scan and chest scan to make sure there's no fractures,"

"Lisa!," she yelled out, "Where is Lisa?"

"Also get her 30 mcg of fentanyl and a dose of etomidate to calm her down,"

"Thank you," she uttered before putting up her IV and administering the fluids.

I moved to the next patient, "Female. 9 years old, a broken arm and chest trauma,"

I glanced at the kid and checked her chart, "Hi. Whats your name?

"Where is my mommy?"

"Her name is Lisa," the paramedic replied.

I pulled aside the nurse, "Make sure you contact her emergency contacts. Her mother is in ER as well,"

I walked back to her side and took out my stethoscope, "Mommy's hurt so a nice lady is taking care of her right now. I will take care of you for the meantime, is that okay?" she nodded her head while looking around warily.

"Where does it hurt? Can you point me where it hurts?" she pointed at her legs

"Everything looks good. Get her an x-ray," the nurse tended to her wounds and I walked up to Kanou to check the situation.

"How are we doing?" I asked

"Everything is under control now. We have 2 critical patients but the rest mostly have broken bones and a few concussions,"

"Nothing you cant handle, huh,"

"Yup. I got this," Kanou smiled

"I need help over here!" Misaki's distressed voice resonated in the chaotic ER

I rushed to the bed at the far end of the room and her patient was unconscious. Misaki quickly passed me the defibrillator

"Charge it to 200," I placed the paddles on his chest "Clear,"

"Charge it to 200," "Clear,"

"Charge it to 300,"

"Clear" the monitor remained the same.

"Charge it to 300,"

"Come on," I muttered, "Clear," everyone's eyes moved to look at the screen but her heart rate remained unmoving.

"No," Misaki was immobile on her feet as she stared at the patient in disbelief, "She was okay a few minutes ago,"

"Time of death, 6:15 PM," I announced. I returned the defibrillator on the cart and faced Misaki

"Misa-" she turned around and walked back to the hallway, "Misaki," I called out.

"I will handle this, go after her," Shizuko said

My footsteps slowed down after spotting her run towards the stairwells

"Are you okay?" I sat beside her on the corner.

"My patient just died," she was still in shock, "I can't believe this," she continued muttering to herself

"It wasn't your fault," I tried to reassure her.

"I was just telling her that she will see her daughter after we get her scans. I told her that everything is going to be okay," a few tears fell on her cheeks.

"I remember the first time a patient died on my hands, I was doing a simple appendectomy and he had a heart attack on the table," she looked at my direction, "I completely remember his face and the reaction of his family when I broke the news to them,"

"I told his wife that her husband will be out and about after a few days but he died," I took a heavy breath and faced her, "People die everyday, there are times when we can help and save their lives but at times it not in our hands anymore. Its hard to swallow but we must keep going. That's the harsh reality of our job,"

She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, "You are strong, you're going to be okay."

"Go and get yourself together, we've got the ER under control," I wiped the tears on her cheeks and patted her gently on the head before heading out.

 **-xxx-**

 **[MISAKI's POV]**

I pushed open the doors and breathe in the cold breeze and felt myself relax. It was a difficult day and I was feeling all sorts of emotions. I spent the rest of the day doing charts to avoid ruminating but ever so often the thought of the patient would creep in my head and I couldn't do anything else but feel the loss. She was the first patient that died in my own hands and I don't think I could ever forget it.

"Misaki," I looked back and saw Takumi walking up to me and passed me a cup of coffee

"Are you feeling better?" I nodded my head and stared at the cup

"They did an autopsy on Mrs. Hayashi,"

I looked at him expectantly, "What was the cause of her death?"

"There was a tear in her heart. She received a severe blow to the chest during the accident,"

I gritted my teeth together, "If I immediately received her scans we could have saved her,"

"Even if we got her scans, it would have been too late," he responded, "It wasn't your fault, Misaki,"

I walked to the bench and sat down in a daze and he followed me, "Did you find her daughter?"

"Yes. She's fine," I felt a small sense of relief, "Mr. Hayashi came in earlier for her discharge and I already told him the news," I slightly nodded my head.

After a few minutes of stillness, he stood up and faced me, "Alright," he slightly scratched the back of his head, "I have to go back inside. Take care,"

"Takumi,"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," a small smile formed on the corner of his lips. I paused for a second to stare at his face, it has been a while since I last saw the smile on his lips and I felt responsible for putting him in a difficult situation. Finding my resolve, I stood up and walked closer to him, "and I am sorry,"

His smile faded away and it was his turn to stare back at me, "You don't have to apologize to me,"

"I do. I shouldn't have left things like that and I should have explained myself first,"

"You made your decision. I don't have the rights to get mad at you and act immature," he replied

"You do and I completely understand. I hurt you and lead you on,"

"Are you Misaki? Since when did you start admitting your feelings?"

My eyebrows furrowed as I glared at him, "Okay," he smirked

"I was conflicted," I avoided his stare and averted my gaze to the ground in discomfort, "I am still are. I am conflicted about my feelings for you and Tora,"

"I know. He is your first love and I cant compete with him," I looked up at him and he forced a smile to cover his true feelings. But the dejected glint in his eyes revealed it all.

"Please shut up for a second, I am still talking,"

"Is this your way of apologizing to me?" he lifted a brow.

"I like you," I admitted

"but you love him,"

"but I think I love you too"

"Wow," "I think I finally know why you feel very conflicted

"Takumi. Can you take me seriously?"

"I am just trying to lighten up the atmosphere also I dont want to say something I would regret and make a fool out of myself," He straightened his face, "Alright. So what are you planning to do? Who are you going to choose?"

"I don't know. I ended it with Tora the other day. I can't make this decision and lead both of you guys on."

My admission took him by surprise, "You ended it with Tora?"

I nodded my head, "I told him that I cant move forward with him and I don't want to give it a try again. We are both completely different person now,"

"I am not going to ask you to continue liking me and wait for me until I make up my mind because that will be very unfair. I have to figure myself out, work out whatever these feelings I have. Figure out why I am scared to let you into my life and why I couldn't let Tora go. I hope you understand."

"I understand. Starting now, I am not going to ask you to reciprocate my feelings and ask anything in return for everything that I will do for you because I am not going to give up,"

"Takumi," I muttered

"Shut up, I am talking," he smiled, "I am not giving up. Not now, so I will be here waiting, whenever you are ready,"

For the first after a while our eyes met and genuine smiles formed on our lips.

"Okay."

* * *

 **A/N:  
** Hello friends, I am so sorry for the late update. I havent been active these last few weeks because I have been very busy with school and I also apologize for not including the preview from last chapter, I had to make major changes in the story since I wasnt very happy with where the story was heading but everything is good now and it will be smooth sailing from here on, it is just a matter of finding the time to write and update. Anyway thank you all for your patience and waiting for the update, I hope you dont give up on this story :)

 **anindya956** : I came back (for you) LOL, thanks again for your little message. It made my day :)

 **Shark's Fin** : I always look forward to reading your reviews, they always make my day and are always very motivating :). Anyway, thanks for giving me your two cents regarding the plot, I dont think I would have noticed that if you didnt point it out, I had some time to read back the older chapters and realized that her heart break from Tora was one of the major plot lines and their relationship moved along here quiet too fast. I guess I was too focused on creating the love triangle. It is one of the reasons why I had to make a lot of changes because its becoming overly dramatic, I want the story to stay more realistic. Thanks again and pls dont hesitate to let me know what you think, I am open to constructive criticisms and will love you even more for your honesty :)

 **Minniemiss123:** I always love reading your reviews. Dont worry girl, I dont mind at all. I do understand where you are coming from and yes, Misaki loves Tora, he was her first love after all but after so many years apart I pointed it out in the last few chapters that despite her feelings for him she realized that their time apart has created a wide distance between them. They werent the same person anymore, she still loves him but the feelings werent as strong as before and Takumi in the picture only made it more confusing for her since it was a 'new love'. I hope you still enjoyed this chapter :)

 **Violet167** : Hehe this chapter was only TakumixMisa and there was a confession too :D

 **Padfoot starfyre** : I am glad you liked Sakura's insight on romance. I had to bring out everything I know about relationships and from own experiences to make some good points haha. Regarding the Dental assistant job, its truly noted. Once the Tora arc is finished, I will be adding it to the storyline because how else is she going to meet Dr. Kuuga Sakurai ;) *hint* *hint* hehe

 **Guest** : Aw that was very sweet. Thank you so much for reading my story :')))


	19. The One With the Long Walk

**Chapter 19: The One with the Long Walk**

* * *

 **[Takumi's POV]**

"How are we doing today, Mr. Igarashi?" I asked the older man as I made my way to him. It has been more than two months since the success of his heart surgery but because of the years of straining his health and body, it took him a while to fully recover.

I put on my stethoscope and assessed his heart beat, "The same as yesterday and the day before," he gruffly replied as he took a deep breath. I smiled at his comment and slung back the stethoscope around my neck.

"I am going to miss your witty replies,"

"Good morning, Dr. Walker," the door closed behind her and she walked up to the bed with a coffee in one hand.

"Good morning, Beatrice," I nodded at her

"What is the verdict today?" a hopeful smile graced her lips.

"Despite the protests and objections, your husband has been following my orders and made a great recovery," she glanced at her husband and chuckled, "You can go home this week and continue recovering at home,"

She clasped her hands in excitement, "That's great news,"

I looked at him and he had a relieved smile on his face, regardless of his attempt to brush aside my warnings and comments about his health, his near-death experience have made him realize how important it is to take care of his body not only for himself but also for his family. He smiled at his wife and reached for her hand, she returned his gesture and moved closer to give him a chaste kiss.

"Make sure that you take care of yourself now, Mr. Igarashi," I reminded him once again, "You are not getting any younger, prioritize your healthy, alright?"

For the first time, the usual brazen old man I got to know had no contemptuous reply.

"Don't worry, Dr. Walker, he knows what he needs to work on from now on," she dotingly remarked, "Thank you again for all your help,"

"It was my pleasure, Beatrice,"

The door to his room creaked open and this time his younger son walked in.

"Tora, your father will be discharged this week," Mrs. Igarashi excitedly disclosed to their son

"That's good to hear," he smiled

"Alright. I will see you guys later this week for your last checkup. Have a good day," I bid my goodbye to the family, my gaze veered to Tora's direction and I politely nodded my head in acknowledgement, "Tora,"

"Takumi," the younger Igarashi jogged towards me, "Do you have a minute?" he asked.

His expression remained unreadable as we made our way to the coffee shop in the first floor of the building. He sat rigid and arms crossed across to me in the crowded café. With the small amount of time I have gotten to know him, it was obvious how pretentious he could be. Underneath all the layers of pretense and his hard exterior, it made me wonder what kind of person he truly was because despite his egoistic façade he was the first person she ever loved and someone that I can never replace in her heart.

"So, he's going to get discharged by the end of this week?" he broke the silence between us.

I nodded my head and placed my cup down on the table, "Yeah, he is in a great shape now. Make sure he stays off doing strenuous jobs and from high levels of stress, it is bad for his health.

"I know, we've decided to let him rest for the meantime and I don't have a choice but to take over most of our businesses," he sighed, a slight discontentment was evident in his voice.

"Why do you seem displeased? Aren't you the only heir of the Igarashi's?"

"Yes. Believe it or not I have other plans for myself and taking caring of the company was never my priority," he added.

His statement only opened the subject we have been avoiding, "Is your priority pursuing her?" I shrewdly asked.

My question piqued his interest as he slowly relaxed on his char and leaned back, "Something like that," he eyed me carefully before breaking into a devious grin, "Don't we have the same priority?"

"Not anymore, don't you have a company to take care of?" I smirked

He scoffed at my comment, "Don't get too arrogant,"

"I think I have the right to be," I tried to aggravate him.

Catching the meaning behind my words he rolled his eyes, "Didn't she dump you as well?"

I chuckled, "Maybe,"

"Is this the reason why you arranged this meeting? To have a nice cup of coffee with your father's doctor or Is this your civil way of declaring may the best man win?" I jokingly asked

He didn't utter any word as he took his cup and took a big sip, "This is my way of stepping back and making sure the man who's after her deserves her,"

I furrowed my eyebrows, "You're giving up on her?"

"I am not but I am letting her be happy," a small smile formed on his lips but the look on his eyes remained stern and unyielding, "I have made the mistake of letting her go before, I still love her but she has moved on."

I shook my head, although having mixed feeling about his sudden declaration, I still had the urge to let him know the truth, "She still loves you,"

"I know but its not the same as before. It took me a while to realize how much we have grown apart," he looked at the cup on his hand, his façade slightly wavered as his eyes showed his true feelings, his yearning and regrets, "she changed into this independent, resilient woman, far from her overly-strict and confident disguise and man hating self," he chuckled, silently reminiscing their memories.

"and now she has feelings for someone else," he faced me, "The old selfish me would have done anything to take her back but I have also changed. Take care of her,"

I smiled and I finally understand, him and her, they were both alike, both expert in masking their own feelings, "You don't have to tell me,"

"If you make her cry I will swoop in and steal her away from you,"

"I don't think I will do the same mistake you did before," I replied.

"Anyone is capable of hurting the person that they love, even if it is unintentional, " he warned, "I hope that you'll never give up on her,"

"I wont,"

 **-xx-**

 **3 months later**

 **[Misaki's POV]**

The frosty winter air greeted me as I stepped foot outside the doors. It was the first week of winter and the trees and ground were covered with snow, I stopped to marvel the beautiful winter land, my eyes automatically darting to the corner of the entrance. The excited smile on my face vanished as I find it deserted, a dejected sigh escaped my lips and I began walking, eyes still scanning the area for the sight of the familiar person.

"Hey," the sudden sound of his voice made me jump back. Hands stuffed in his pocket, he walked towards me with a smug smile.

Looking at his face I couldn't help but return the smile, "I thought you went home already,"

"I went back to get some documents in my office," once he caught up with me, we began walking together.

"You know you don't have to walk with me everyday," I stated despite feeling elated but he will never find that out.

"This is the only time I can spend some time with you alone, I will take whatever I can," he flashed me his smile once again and I could feel myself warming up despite the cold weather. I tried my best to act casual and shrugged off his comment.

"It's really cold today, huh," I said as another cold breeze past through us and I slightly shivered.

"Wait a second," we stopped near an intersection and he took off his scarf. He wrapped it around my neck while I blatantly stared at his face. No matter how many small gestures he does, it seemed like I would never get used to it and will repeatedly feel the butterflies in my stomach and I hate myself for reacting like this all the time.

"Stared enough?" he asked while looping the ends of the scarf. I blushed at his comment and immediately looked away

"Let's go,"

He walked ahead of me while I continued staring at the back of his head. Things have been going steady between us ever since our talk, he kept his promise and never pressured me into moving things faster. He was patiently waiting and never failing to make me feel special

 _Am I ready to give this a chance?_ The thought crossed my mind once again.

He paused on his tracks and looked back, he was a few feet away from me while I unconsciously stopped on my tracks.

"Hey, what are you doing? Come on," he called out

He walked towards me with brows furrowed, "Are you okay?"

"I am fine just kind of cold,"

He smiled and extended his hand to me, my eyes darted to his and without any hesitation I took his hand. He stuffed our intertwined hands in his pocket and led the way.

"I have an early meeting tomorrow so I have to leave early,"

"Is it about expanding the hospital?" I asked

"Yeah, there was a problem with the funds and the other departments are complaining," he exhaled

"The chief is probably stressed out right now,"

"Yup and the hospital has never been busier," the expanding of the hospital and advancement of the equipments' comes with an increase of patients seeking for more extensive help.

"Your schedule tomorrow is full. You're booked throughout the day for consultations," I said nonchalantly.

"You checked my schedule?" he playfully raised a brow at me

I rolled my eyes, "I saw it accidentally,"

"You're trying to keep track of me

"No!"

He chuckled, "Alright, alright. Anyway, how are the new recruits?"

"Not too bad, its fun to be the one teaching them for a change,"

"I am glad you are having fun, you have become one of the best nurse after just working there for a year,"

"I know," I proudly replied.

"By the way tell Sakura about an opening in the dental clinic of the hospital,"

"There's an opening?

"Yeah, it's an internal opening but I can give her a good recommendation,"

"She's going to be so happy, she's been waiting for an opportunity to get back to working in the clinic for so long. Aren't I lucky that my boyf-," I paused, "that my friend is a-a d-doctor," I nervously laughed, I glanced at him to check if he caught my small slip up but the stupid grin on his face proved that he did.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Nothing," he cleared his throat, "my friend is very funny,"

Without even noticing, we have reached the last block to our building, "Anyway, make sure you get a good night sleep we are going to be so busy tomorrow,"

"You do know men like you only exist in movies and books, right?" I said out loud

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"You have proven that you can be dependable, annoying and perverted at times but I think I can rely on you. Also, you can be a pretty decent guy if you want to be," I shrugged, "Never mind, men in the books are almost perfect,"

"Should I feel flattered because half of what you said was also an insult,"

"Those were compliments," I grinned at him.

"I might seem perfect in your eyes, its not like I can blame you," I elbowed him and he smiled, "disregarding your biased observations, I have my fair share of imperfections and that's what makes me more humane,"

I looked up at him and smiled, "I know I still seem perfect though," I rolled my eyes. Just when I thought he was making some serious points.

"Let's hurry, the snow is starting to pour in," Without letting go of my hands we quickly jogged into our building. He shook off the snow on his jacket and helped me wipe off the snow on mine.

We stopped at the front steps of our apartments, both became quiet as no one wanted to part ways.

"Alright, good night. I will see you tomorrow," he said

"Good night," he finally let go of my hand and walked up to his doors and with one last regard he opened his door and went inside.

I was left in front of my door steps alone, suddenly missing the warmth of the hand holding mine a few seconds ago. The small bliss I was feeling was quickly replaced by longing, how can one person make me feel all these emotions without even realizing it. I glanced one last time to his door before finally walking inside, I opened the lights in my apartment, heading straight to my couch to take off my jacket and placed my bag down. I paused on my feet after taking off the scarf around my neck, the blue fleece material felt cold in my hands but it only reminded me of the person it belonged to, the person I was unsure of. The person I never thought I could trust but always been by my side, helping, taking care of me without asking for anything in return.

 _What did I do to deserve someone like him?_

Just the idea of sharing myself and baring my soul to another person is scary but the thought of him being the person I will be trusting myself to makes it somewhat less terrifying because it feels like no matter how scared I feel, he will be there to guide and protect me. A smile tugged on my lips as I clutched the item in my hand tighter, with a sudden surge of courage I walked out of my apartment and knocked on the door next to mine.

"Hey," he opened the door with a surprise look on his face, "What's up?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," he opened the door for me.

"I forgot to return this to you,"

He slightly chuckled, "You could have given this back to me tomorrow. Are you trying to find a way to talk to me?" he teased

"Yes,"

He glanced at me, slightly taken a back, "How forward," he folded his arms across his chest, "What's in your mind?"

I took a heavy breath before slowly walking towards him and wrapped the scarf around his neck, I could feel the fast beating of my heart and I silently prayed that he wouldn't notice it.

"Did you really just come here to return this?" he smirked

"No," my voice sounded so small.

He furrowed his brows and looked straight into my eyes, questioning my uncharacteristically actions. Making use of the remaining determination I have in me, I grabbed the ends of the scarf and pulled him towards me, his eyes widened in astonishment.

My entire body flushed in embarrassment, "Misaki," he muttered, his eyes searching mine for unanswered questions.

"I am sorry for making you wait. I am ready if you are," my face turned a shade redder at my cheesy confession.

He broke into a wide smile, "Finally," he whispered before wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me closer and closing the distance between us. At that moment, as our lips touched and as I held him close in my arms, I realized it never felt more right.

* * *

 **A/N:** And the TakuMisa ship has sailed haha. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too cliche and cheesy, let me know what you guys think in a comment :)


	20. The One with the Disagreement

**Chapter 20: The One with the Disagreement**

* * *

 **[Misaki's POV]**

"I can't tell him?" he asked as we turned to our street.

"You can't," I kept a straight face

He lifted a brow, "But he is my friend,"

"and he has a big mouth," I shrugged, "I just don't want the entire hospital to know about our business. You know how fast gossip gets around, the other nurses will think of me as someone sleeping with the attending,"

"Sleeping with the attending huh,"I glanced at him and he had a stupid smirk on his face. I furrowed my brows and he caught on that I was starting to get annoyed.

"Alright, whatever you say," he sighed before grabbing my hand and linking our fingers together, "They are going to find out sooner or later,"

"That is why we need to be careful,"

"So you are telling me that you want to keep our relationship a secret from everyone. Are you embarrassed of me?" he slightly chuckled but his response caused me to stop on my tracks.

I pulled away from his hold and he paused to look back at me. After noticing the stern look in my eyes, the playful smile on his face disappeared.

"What's wrong?"

I looked straight into his eyes, "I know I am asking for a lot but I want to keep this between us for now, it has been a long time since I was in a relationship and we know how that ended," I sighed and looked away, "When I decided that I wanted to be with you, I promised myself that I will do everything differently this time around. I don't want anyone to interfere with our relationship, I want to keep it private until we build a good foundation and trust,"

He smiled after hearing my sentiment, "I can never say no to you," he extended his hand to me once again and this time he held me closer to him.

I am not going to lie that I don't have anymore fears and uncertainties, that I am hundred percent confident that I would be able to make this relationship work, that I am certain that he will never hurt me like the guy before him did. But one thing I know since the moment I decided I want to let him in and break down the wall that separated me from everyone else was that I want to try, try to fully open my heart and give my trust in hope that maybe we can make it work.

I smiled at his small gesture and tightened my hold of his hand

"You are off on Friday, right?" he asked as we walked into the elevator.

"Yup. Why did you ask?" I pressed our floor and the door began closing

"Hold the door,"

Takumi reached for the button to hold the door open and from the slight opening I caught a glimpse of the redhead running up to catch our elevator, I immediately pulled away from him before the door fully opened and reveal my roommate out of breath with takeout food in one hand

"Misaki," Sakura breathed out.

"Hey,"

"Hi, Takumi," she greeted him as she stood beside me.

"Hello, Sakura,"

She faced me and tilted her head to the side while staring at my face, "You look kind of red, are you okay?"

My hand automatically reached for my cheeks, "Oh this is nothing," I nervously laughed. A smirk was plastered on Takumi's lips as he gave me a playful look.

"How was your interview?" Takumi asked Sakura.

"It went great, they told they will let me know the result by the end of this week. Thanks again for your recommendation,"

"No problem,"

A small smile formed on my lips as I watched their interaction, it was nice to see that he was getting along with my best friend.

"Did you eat already, Misa?"

I shook my head, "Not yet,"

"I brought your favorite food. Want to join us, Takumi?"

"I will have to pass, I have an early shift tomorrow,"

The elevator stopped on our floor and the door slid open. He stayed in his position, leaned back against the wall. Sakura got off the elevator first and I followed suit, before I could take a step out into the hallway, I felt his hand tug me back and found myself caught between his arms. Before I could react, he gave me a quick peck on the lips before letting me go and stepping out of the elevator.

"I can get used to this secret romance," he winked at my stunned face, "Goodnight,"

I began walking and stopped next to Sakura who was opening our door, she glanced at me and lifted a brow, "Misaki, your face is so red. Are you okay?"

"Goodnight girls," he said before unlocking his door, I couldn't get myself to look him in the eye.

"Goodnight," I mumbled, trying my best to hide my flustered face.

As I closed the door behind me I couldn't hold back the stupid smile forming in the corner of my lips.

"It is such a shame that you two didn't end up together," Sakura mused out loud as she took out the food from the paper bag, "Are you sure you don't want to give him another chance?"

I composed myself and shook my head in response to her question, she sighed in disappointment but chose to not say anything more. I knew I shouldn't be keeping this a secret from her, she's the person that knows me the best and figures out my feelings even before I did but this time I want to figure everything out myself.

 **-xxx-**

After dropping the charts at the nursing station, I headed back to the break-room to take a quick rest. A few nurses were also taking their break including Hinata and Yukimura who just finished their shift.

"How are you guys doing?" I greeted them as I took a seat beside them.

"Tired, it was a long night," Yukimura yawned out

"How did the interns do last night?" I asked

"They are slowly getting the hang of it," Hinata replied, "I can still imagine when we were in their position last year,"

"Mia was yelling at a couple of the interns last night because they couldn't put an IV in one of the patients," Yukimura said while shaking his head.

"That was me last year," they chuckled at my comment

"You should have seen their faces, they were about to cry,"

"That is Mia for you,"

"We should go now, I need some sleep," Yukimura stood up, "See you later, Misaki,"

"Bye,"

I busied myself with my phone, checking my emails and text messages when I felt a presence behind me.

"Hi," he whispered in my ear.

I jolted in my seat, "What are you doing here?" I asked while my eyes scanned the room to see if anybody was around.

"Relax, I just brought you coffee,"

I stood up from my chair and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door, "What if someone catches you here,"

"Can't I have some alone time with my girlfriend?" with a mischievous grin on his lips, he wrapped his right hand around my waist and pulled me closer.

"Not in the hospital," I replied while trying to pry him off before anyone sees us.

The door suddenly swung open and my automatic response was push him away, he stumbled back in surprise almost spilling the coffee on the floor.

"Good morning, Satsuki," I stood rigidly while nervously smiling at her.

"Hi, Misaki," she paused after seeing him in the room, "Morning, Dr. Walker,"

She suspiciously eyed the two of us, "What are you doing here, Dr. Walker?" she grinned at him

He glanced at me first, "I just wanted to ask Misaki-" he paused, I could sense that he was taunting me, "If she wanted to assist me on a surgery tomorrow,"

"Oh that's great. Good luck, Misaki," she grabbed an item from her locker and made her way out.

I turned around to face him once she was out of sight, "Was that true or not?"

"I will tell you tomorrow night," he started walking towards the door.

"What is happening tomorrow night?" I furrowed my brows

"Our first date," he smirked, "Have a nice day, babe,"

There it was, the stupid smile on my lips again.

* * *

 **A/N** : Hey everyone, sorry for the late update.I just want to say thank you for helping me reach 200+ reviews, thank you to everyone who follow/favorite the story and of course to everyone who reviewed the story. I am also happy and sad to announce that CBTM will be coming to an end, I have laid out the draft of the story and there will be about seven chapters left. I enjoyed writing every single chapter and the reviews made it all worthwhile also I never thought that this story will gain a lot of views/readers so from the bottom of my heart thanks for supporting my story. This chapter is short but I hope you guys still enjoyed it.


	21. The One With the First Date

**A/N:** Hello everyone, it has been a while. How are you guys doing? I am sorry I haven't updated any of my stories in almost a year, I have been busy with other things and also I just lost motivation to write. It wasn't until a few weeks ago when I got inspired again after stumbling upon an old draft of one of my other stories and that helped me to start writing again. This chapter is short and might not be my best work but I hope you still enjoy this.

* * *

 **Chapter 21: The One With The First Date**

* * *

 _[Misaki's POV]_

I adjusted the hem of my dress before slipping into a pair of black stilettos. My eyes checking my reflection on the mirror once again to make sure that my hair was in place and everything looked perfect. A smile tugged on the corner of my lips, it has been a while since the last time I put this much effort to look nice in front of someone. Just looking at my reflection caused my stomach to knot up and my heart to pound loudly against my chest. It was an awful and an exciting feeling. _What the hell happened to me?_

I checked the time on my phone and headed out of my room, a smile was plastered on my face and it didn't go unnoticed by my observant roommate.

"Where are you going?" Sakura gave me a once over before breaking into a grin, "Are you going on a date?"

"N-no! My friends and I are going out for dinner," I tried to explain without looking directly into her eyes.

"Why do you look so dressed up? Trying to impress someone?" she smirked

"It's a formal dinner!" I huffed, "What time are you leaving?"

"I will be out of your hair in a few minutes and you can enjoy your time with your secret date," she rolled her eyes at me and gave me her ' _I know you're hiding something, but I will find out soon'_ smile. She usually does but this time I was adamant in keeping this a secret as long as I could.

"I am not going on a date," I called out to her as she walked back into her room with a playful grin on her face.

"Whatever you say," she yelled back

-x

My eyes darted towards the wall clock once again, it has been two hours since I finished getting ready and two hours past the arranged time. The small butterflies in my stomach was replaced with uneasiness, _did something happen to him?_ I checked my phone and he still hasn't responded to my calls. _Did he change his mind about me?_ A heavy sigh escaped my lips and I immediately shook my head to get the thoughts out of my mind. It wasn't the time to doubt him after everything he has done for me and the number of times he proved his sincerity towards me. He must have a good reason but for now I couldn't shake this anxiety out.

Another half hour passed before my phone began ringing, the caller ID was unfamiliar. I immediately picked up, holding my breath in the process and imagining the worst-case scenario.

"Misaki?" his velvety voice was on the other line and I sighed in relief.

"Are you okay?"

"I am fine. Sorry, I didn't get the chance to call you right away," he paused for a second, "and I am sorry, but I don't think I can make it tonight. There was a car accident downtown,"

I nodded my head understanding the situation, his work needed him more, "It is okay, I understand,"

"Dr. Walker, I need a consult," I heard someone calling out to him in a hurry,

I forced a smile, "Don't worry about it,"

He paused once again, "I will talk to you later. Okay?"

Before I could reply the line ended.

With a disheartened sigh, I stood up and tossed my phone on the couch before heading back to my bedroom to change out of my dress and into my pajamas. I couldn't shrug off the feeling of dismay, I couldn't fully admit it to myself, but I was looking forward to finally spend some quality time with him outside of the hospital. I scoffed at my irrational feelings, he was there saving lives and I was sulking in the corner because of a cancelled date.

I slumped down on the couch and wrapped myself with a blanket. But deep down I know it was more than a cancelled date and a simple rain check, it all boils down to my inability to give my full trust, my ridiculous flaw of always trying to find a fault on a person and use it as a reason to run away. I have been trying my best to not let my own insecurities get the better of me, I promised myself that I will give him my full trust and slowly break down this wall I have put up to protect myself but slowly I feel like I'm reverting to my old self and I don't want to end what might be something beautiful and worth keeping because of my own issues.

I closed my eyes and exhaled in frustration, I also might be falling for him too hard and that's another reason to run away. I closed my eyes to try to stop more thoughts from clouding my mind.

 ** _-xxxx-_**

The ringing of my phone stirred me back to consciousness, with eyes still closed I reached towards the center table to grab my phone.

"Hello?" I said still half-asleep

"Hi," my eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice.

I jolted up from the couch, "Hey," I said in surprise

"Are you already sleeping?" he asked

"No. Are you still in the hospital?"

"On my way home now," he sighed, "About tonight-"

I immediately cut him off, "Don't worry about it. We can plan something again next time," he doesn't have any reason to apologize and feel guilty about tonight.

He paused for a second, "Really?" he asked, he seemed a little bit caught of guard with my answer.

"Yeah,"

"So, I guess I should just stop waiting in front of your door and go back into my apartment?"

My eyes widened in disbelief, "What?" I hurriedly walked towards the door.

I opened the door and there he was standing outside, cheeks red from the cold, the circles beneath his eyes has darkened since the last time I saw him.

"I am so sorry. Can I still make it up to you?" he offered me his boyish grin.

I was speechless. As I stared into his captivating eyes, I couldn't help but shake my head in astonishment, I was washed over with admiration for this wonderful man in front of me.

"You don't have to," I smiled.

"I brought take out food and your favorite ice cream," he lifted the plastic bag he was holding, "I know it is not the perfect first date but-"

I took a step forward and brought my arms around him, "This will do," I mumbled.

 ** _-xxxx-_**

Time passed quickly, and we found ourselves lying down on the couch facing each other, we spent the last two hours just talking about work and everything. It wasn't how I thought our date would go and it was certainly not how I planned it to be, I imagined our first date to be romantic, consisting of a candle light dinner, a tender moment as we hold each others' hands while walking around the city and sharing a sweet kiss before parting at the end of the night. But eating take out food in my pajamas with an old movie playing in the background and sharing embarrassing stories beats the date I have planned in my mind. I guess, if you are with the right person, anything as simple as lying down on the couch together can turn into something special. I looked up at him and planted a small kiss on his lips.

He smiled at my small gesture, "You should get some sleep now. You have been up for more than 12 hours and you have an early shift tomorrow. Sakura might also come home soon, what if-"

"Stop worrying for a second," he wrapped his arm around my waist, "Let me just stay here for a few more minutes, I like being here,"

"We can't stay here for too long, okay?" I added before getting comfortable in his arms.

"Okay," he chuckled at my constant complains.

"I mean it,"

"Shhhhhhh,"

I opened my left eye and caught him closing his eyes, "Takumi, what if you fall asleep?"

"I will leave in 30 minutes," he assured me, he tightened his hold around me and I could feel the steady beat of his heart.

"I like being here too," I whispered

"I know," I could picture him smirking after hearing my sentiment.

"Takumi,"

"Hm?

"Thanks," I buried my head in the crook of his neck and wrapped my left arm around his torso, pulling him as close as I possibly could.

"You always amaze me," he chuckled.

I was too exhausted to reply to his remark. I could still hear his voice, but I was too tired to make out what he was saying,

"Misaki-" before I realized it I have completely dozed off.

* * *

 _Next Chapter:_

 _"How long are you staying here for?" Takumi asked_

 _"I am just staying for a week," Aoi replied_

 _"I am surprised that you didn't follow your friends here,"_

 _"Well I have my own life back home unlike these two," Aoi smirked at his friends direction._

 _"It was a new start for us, okay. Not everyone here was lucky enough to have their own business to keep their selves busy,"_

 _Aoi rolled his eyes at Sakura's comment, "Anyway, when are you going to start dating again?"_

 _"I will take my time, I am sure I will meet someone in the hospital," Sakura said nonchalantly._

 _"Enough about Sakura,"Aoi faced the couple,  
_

 _"Aoi!" They chuckled at their little banter.  
_

 _"How about you, are you guys thinking about marriage yet?" he frankly asked._

 _Misaki choked on her food, "What?"_

 _"That is something to think about, you are not getting any younger Misaki,"_

 _Misaki glared at her friend, why did she think it was a good idea to introduce Takumi to her friends. She glanced at Takumi to see his reaction._

 _"I dont really see myself getting married," Takumi replied._


	22. The One With the Awkward Dinner

**A/N** : Big thanks to **Guest** , **Padfoot Starfyre** , **Minniemiss123** and **Silverlilly95429** for your reviews :))

* * *

 **Chapter 22: The One with the Awkward Dinner**

* * *

 _ **[Takumi's POV]**_

The closing of the door and the light footsteps woke me up, I opened my eyes and saw Sakura tiptoeing towards her room trying her best to keep the noise down when she noticed that I have woken up.

She smiled and looked at the girl sleeping in my arms, "Sorry to wake you," she whispered

"It is alright," I carefully removed my arm around Misaki and got up the couch, "I need to get going anyway. She will freak out if she finds out I stayed the night,"

"Don't worry, I won't say a word," she glanced at Misaki, "She must have a reason why she's keeping it a secret from me,"

I nodded and smiled, "Thanks,"

I looked back at Misaki who was soundly sleeping, I tucked her in and returned to my apartment to get a few more hours of sleep before my next shift.

 **-xx—**

 _ **[Misaki's POV]**_

I rushed out of my room just in time before my toasts get burnt.

"Hey," Sakura was already sitting by the dining table with coffee in one hand

"How was your night out?" I asked while shuffling around the kitchen, "What time did you get home?"

"It was good, I got home around 3 am, " she took a sip from her cup and faced me, " So, how was your dinner?" she had a mischievous smile on her face.

"Umm it didn't turn out as what I had planned but overall I had a good time," I casually said without thinking much.

"Yeah, I am sure you did," she snickered.

I whipped my head around and narrowed my eyes at her, "What does that mean?"

"It wasn't a date, huh?" she asked rhetorically.

I avoided her inquisitive stare and turned my back, "Like I told you, it wasn't," my face was starting to turn red, I couldn't lie to save my life.

"Whatever you say," she didn't take her eyes off me as I stumbled around in panic. _Why does it feel like she was onto me?_

"I have to go now," I scurried away from her and ran to my room to grab my bag.

"Have fun at work," she called out to me while I headed to the door, "By the way, would you mind giving this phone back to your secret date on your way out to see him,"

My eyes widened in shock, I paused on my feet and faced her. She had a haughty smirk plastered on her face as she walked up to me to pass me an Iphone with a stolen picture of me as a wallpaper.

"Okay, bye,"

I cowered realizing that I was caught red handed, "Sakura-"

"Yes?" she innocently smiled at me, "Do you have something to say to me?"

"Where did you find this?" I carefully asked.

"By the couch," she folded her arms across her chest proudly as she waited for me to cave in and finally tell the truth.

"I can explain,"

"Dr. Walker is waiting for you outside," she tried to dismiss me

"I am sorry," I blurted out.

She paused on her feet and faced me, "Why did you lie to me?" she asked,

My eyes were glued to the floor while I stammered trying to explain myself, "I didn't want to make the same mistakes I did last time," I finally looked up and she stared back at me with sympathy. She was the one that saw me during the lowest point of my life, "You have seen me blinded with love, I was careless and reckless. Without thinking much of the consequences, I risked everything for him and you know how that ended and how I fell apart after that," just mentioning it brought us back to the past.

"This time I wanted to take it slow and I thought keeping it from everyone will help me make sure that I will be able to think of each steps carefully and hopefully make the right choices. I am so sorry I lied to you," I confessed

She engulfed me in a tight hug, "It's okay I understand. I am so happy for you,"

"You don't have to be so cautious about your relationship, Misaki. Its okay to make mistakes, you have learned so much from your past I think you should give yourself a break,"

I exhaled, "I will try,"

"This is perfect, we can celebrate with Aoi when he gets here tomorrow," she gushed

I frowned, "You want me to introduce him to Aoi?"

"Yes, why not?" she was already jumping up and down from excitement.

I thought about it for a few seconds, "I have a bad feeling about this,"

"Come on, its going to be great," she tried to convince me, but I was already thinking otherwise.

 **...  
**

 **(the next night)**

After our shift ended, we stopped by a restaurant to grab some food to bring home. Since Aoi and I will be arriving late, we decided to just stay home and have dinner together.

"So, he is one of your closest friends back home?" he asked as we walked back to our apartment.

"Yes,"

"Should I be worried or something?"

I chuckled at his question, "You will be fine, he might judge you a little bit but don't take it personally. I hated him at first to be honest," I wasn't going to lie that I got along with Aoi right away, he was the type of person that grows on your after a long while.

"What should I do to try to impress him?"

I looked at him in surprise, "You want him to like you?"

"Yeah, I would like them to think of me as someone worthy of the affection of the great, Misaki," the corner of his mouth quirked up.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Say that to his face and he is going to like you right away,"

"Good,"

We arrived at my apartment and was greeted by luggage and bags thrown across our living room floor while Aoi was busy chatting up with Sakura.

"Misaki!" Aoi glanced up

I ran up to him and gave him a big hug, "How was your flight?"

"It was alright, I was stuck with a baby crying in the plane so it wasn't the most pleasant experience," he said exasperatedly. His gaze moved up to find the guy standing behind me, a small smirk formed in the corner of his lips once he locked eyes with me again.

My cheeks turned red, "Umm this is Takumi," I quickly pointed behind me.

"It is nice to meet you," Takumi walked up to him and extended his hand

Aoi shook his hand, "Is he the hot, stalker doctor?" he asked without breaking away his stare.

Takumi chuckled at his comment, "That was in the past,"

"Aoi!" I hissed at him

"He is," Sakura confirmed in a whisper.

"Well its about time you start dating. How long did it take for you to get over that guy?" he was in a deep thought for a few seconds, "What was his name again? Oh yeah, Tora,"

I silently cussed him in my head, he could never keep his thoughts to himself

Sakura was holding back her laughter as she watched me turn red from annoyance.

"Can we please stop talking about him?"

"How about lets eat?" Sakura offered.

I looked back at Takumi apologetically and he reassured with a gentle pat on my head.

"How long are you staying here for?" Takumi asked while we sat down at the dining table.

"Just for a week,"

"But it looks like he brought all of his belongings with him," I sighed as I looked back at the bags scattered all over our floor, I was tempted to put it all away before starting dinner.

"Do you have any plans of following them here?"

"Well I have my own life back home unlike these two," Aoi grinned at our direction

"It was a fresh start for us, okay. Not everyone here was lucky enough to have their own business to keep their selves busy," Sakura retorted back.

"You are just jealous that I am successful,"

"Hey!"

"Anyway, when are you going to start dating again?"

"I will take my time," Sakura said, "How about you? You don't seem to have much luck when it comes to love," she mocked him this time.

"Enough about Sakura," Aoi disregarded her.

"Aoi," Sakura grumbled

I chuckled at their little banter, this was one of the few things I missed about having Aoi around. It just felt complete with him around, despite his brashness he brings a different dimension in our group.

"How about you? Are you guys thinking about marriage yet?" I choked on my food

I glared at him, "What the hell?" and his inquisition made me realize why I couldn't be with him longer than a few days and worse of all live in the same house as him. He would drive me crazy with his stupid remarks and I would probably end up hurting him.

"That is something to think about, you are not getting any younger, Misaki," he casually stated while taking another spoonful of his fried rice.

This was also one of the reasons I wanted to keep this a secret.

I glanced at Takumi to see his reaction, hoping that he doesn't think that my friends are crazy. But his expression remained calm as if my friend didn't give him a reason to be flustered or rattled.

"I don't know, I don't really see myself getting married," he replied after taking a sip of his drink.

My friends paused to look at him to see if he was serious.

"Really?" Sakura asked

My annoyance at my friend evaporated as I focused on what he said, I realized he wasn't joking about it. But hearing his sentiment and knowing he meant every word, made me wonder, where does that leave them? I know it was early into the relationship to think about that matter, but I would like to think that I have a future with him. I quickly shrugged off the thoughts.

"Okay, Aoi can you please stop being nosy and play nice,"

Sakura caught on the atmosphere right away, "Yeah, we haven't seen you in so long and you are being a bitch,"

Aoi laughed at Sakura, "Alright, sorry. I am just a bit tired,"

They were able to turn the night around and they ended up catching up with each other, Aoi told them stories about the new things happening in their hometown, who is dating who, who broke up and what everyone has been up to. It was good to reminisce about the past and how much things have changed over the years. Takumi didn't feel too left out as he seemed to be entertained with our old stories. He would hold my hand from time to time and smile at me sweetly through out the night, it was as if the conversation we had earlier never happened. I ended up forcing a smile all through out the night.

"I think I should get going now,"

I looked at the time, it was already past 2 in the morning and we still have work the next day, "Yeah, we need to get some sleep,"

"It was nice meeting you, Aoi," Takumi bid his goodbye and I walked him out.

"Alright, I will see you tomorrow," he gave me quick peck on the lips before leaving.

I walked back to the kitchen to see my friends talking in a hushed voice.

"Yes. Okay, lets hear it," I exhaled.

Aoi leaned against the wall and faced me, "Was he for real?" he lifted a brow.

"Did you see his face when he said that," Sakura noted.

"Misaki, sorry to break it to you but that guy has issues. Honey walk away while its still early," he brazenly expressed his opinion.

"What the hell are you saying?" Sakura intercepted, "Don't listen to Aoi but I want to know if he was serious about that,"

He didn't garner any reaction from me as I remained quiet. I honestly didn't know what to feel, if I should be affected or if I have any rights to get affected. Who am I to criticize his views in life? After all I know the reason behind it.

"Okay. Let us not judge him, we are going to be respectful and we are going to watch what we are going to say," I directed the last few words at Aoi, "He got left at the altar,"

Sakura shook her head in disbelief, "Oh my god, that's horrible,"

"Please don't mention anything to him. I really like him, and I don't want to ruin what we have right now,"

"I guess we all have our own baggage's," Aoi replied.

I sighed in agreement, despite feeling overwhelmed, what I feel about him outweighs all the concerns that I had. But at the same time, it made me realize how much I don't know about him. I was too occupied with my own issues that I have forgotten that he also went through something similar and how much his past also affected him.

I have broken down my walls for him, but I didn't realize that he kept his wall up from me.

"Yes, so can you please stop judging him," I looked directly at Aoi.

"Well, I am just saying," he lifted his arm up in defense, "Knowing you, despite having a broken family, I know it is your dream one day to get married and have your own family,"

I paused

"Are you really ready to let go of all that?"

* * *

-Next chapter-

 _"Is something bothering you?_

 _"I am fine, just a bit tired," Misaki forced a smile._

 _"I think I know you well enough to know that something is bothering you," Takumi took a seat beside her_

 _"You haven't opened up to me yet,"_

 _"About what?"_

 _"About your past,"_

 _He chuckled, "What are you saying? I have, I think that was the reason we connected,"_

 _"What are your views on marriage?"_

 _"That was out of the blue,"_

 _"Its not, we just talked about it last night,"_

 _"Oh, right,"_

 _"Do you really not believe in marriage anymore?" Misaki asked_

 _He faced her, "Do you really want me to answer that?"_


End file.
